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REPORT 

OF  THE 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF 
SCHOOLS 

ROME,  NEW  YORK 
1916-1917  1917-1918 


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REPORT 

OF  THE 

Superintendent  of  Schools 

ROME,  N.  Y. 

1916—1917  1917—1918 


JULY  31st,  1918 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/reportofsuperintOOstal 


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“Ye  that  have  faith  to  look  with  fearless  eyes 
Beyond  the  tragedy  of  a  world  at  strife , 

And  know  that  out  of  death  and  night  shall  rise 
The  dawn  of  ampler  life, 

Rejoice,  whatever  anguish  rend  the  heart, 

That  God  has  given  you  a  priceless  dower, 

To  live  in  these  great  times  and  have  your  part 
In  Freedom's  crowning  hour; 

That  you  may  tell  your  sons  who  see  the  light 
High  in  the  heavens  —  their  heritage  to  take  — 
T  saw  the  powers  of  Darkness  put  to  flight, 

I  saw  the  morning  break’.” 


(This  poem  was  found  on  the  body  of  an  unknown 
Australian  soldier  who  died  bravely  fighting  the  Germans 
on  the  Western  front  in  France.) 


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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Page 

Organization . 5 

In  Memoriam . 7 

Foreword . 8 

What  the  Schools  Try  To  Do . 9 

Effect  of  the  War  Upon  the  Schools. .  17 

Progress  and  Promotion . 20 

Attendance . 24 

Financial . 24 

Bonds . 25 

Insurance . 25 

Health  Statistics . . .  .  25 

Summer  Sessions . 26 

Teachers . 27 

One-Story  Schoolhouse  Architecture .  29 

Building  Program . 37 

Awards . 38 

Historical  Sketch . 41 


ORGANIZATION 


October,  1916  —  May,  1918 

Jeremiah  H.  Carroll,  President . 116  E.  Dominick  St 

Walter  B.  Johnson,  Vice-President . Rome  Manufacturing  Co. 

Mrs.  Mary  Sutton  Whyte,  Clerk . 218  N.  James  St. 

George  G.  Bailey . Fort  Stanwix  Canning  Co. 

Albert  Krebs . 210  W.  Dominick  St. 

Frederick  W.  Marks . W.  W.  Parry  Coal  Co. 


COMMITTEES 

Finance . Commissioners  Johnson,  Bailey,  Krebs 

Library  and  Apparatus . Commissioners  Krebs,  Johnson,  Marks 

Buildings  and  Supplies . Commissioners  Bailey,  Carroll,  Krebs 

Teachers . Commissioners  Carroll,  Whyte,  Johnson 

Text  Books . Commissioners  Marks,  Whyte,  Bailey 

Visiting . Commissioners  Whyte,  Marks,  Carroll 


May,  1918  — 

Walter  B.  Johnson,  President . 

Mrs.  Mary  Sutton  Whyte,  Vice-President . 

Frederick  W.  Marks,  Clerk . 

Albert  Krebs . 

Herbert  T.  Dyett . 

Dr.  M.  T.  Powers . . 


Rome  Manufacturing  Co. 

. 218  N.  James  St. 

. .  .W.  W.  Parry  Coal  Co. 
...  .210  W.  Dominick  St. 

. Rome  Wire  Co. 

. .  .215  N.  Washington  St 


COMMITTEES 

Finance . Commissioners  Krebs,  Johnson,  Powers 

Library  and  Apparatus . Commissioners  Dyett,  Krebs,  Whyte 

Buildings  and  Supplies . Commissioners  Marks,  Krebs,  Dyett 

Teachers . Commissioners  Whyte,  Johnson,  Dyeti 

Text  Books . Commissioners  Johnson,  Marks,  Powers 

Visiting . Commissioners  Powers,  Whyte,  Marks 


George  R.  Staley  . . 

Mary  C.  Craig _ 

Charles  A.  Young 


Superintendent  of  Schools 
Secretary  to  Superintendent 
Attendance  Officer 


205  W.  Garden  St. 

. ;650  Turin  St. 

..515  S.  George  St. 


5 


HOMER  WILLIAM  HARRIS 


6 


HOMER  WILLIAM  HARRIS 

Shortly  after  the  expiration  of  the  period  covered  by 
this  report,  and  during  the  time  of  its  preparation  occurred 
the  death  of  Homer  W.  Harris,  for  seventeen  years  Prin¬ 
cipal  of  Rome  Free  Academy.  He  was  spending  his  vaca¬ 
tion  with  relatives  and  the  relatives  of  Mrs.  Harris  at 
Canaseraga,  N.  Y.,  when  he  was  attacked  by  appendicitis. 
He  was  taken  to  St.  James’  Mercy  Hospital  at  Hornell, 
where  he  submitted  to  an  operation  from  which  he  was 
unable  to  recover.  He  died  August  22,  in  the  48th  year 
of  his  age. 

His  was  a  character  of  rare  strength  and  beauty.  He 
held  to  a  remarkable  degree  the  respect  and  affection  of 
pupils,  parents  and  teachers.  No  one  with  whom  he  was 
associated  ever  found  in  him  one  smallest  streak  of  mean¬ 
ness,  one  note  of  disloyalty,  one  single  suggestion  of  de¬ 
ceit  or  indirection.  He  was  a  man  of  unusual  gifts,  but 
he  was  also  a  man  of  unusual  modesty.  He  had  a  supreme 
sense  of  fairness  and  his  dealings  with  pupils  were  ever 
marked  by  justice  tempered  by  a  sympathetic  understand¬ 
ing.  As  he  lay  in  the  hospital  at  Hornell  on  the  morning 
of  the  day  he  died,  his  failing  strength  made  his  speech 
fragmentary,  but  almost  at  the  very  last  he  said  quite 
distinctly  and  coherently,  “All  the  boys  and  girls  must 
have  an  equal  chance !”  He  had  given  subconsciously  the 
keynote  of  his  character.  The  City  of  Rome  is  immeasur¬ 
ably  richer  in  consequence  of  his  service..  His  loss  is 
irreparable. 


f 


FOREWORD 


To  the  Board  of  Education: 

Amidst  all  the  misgivings  I  feel  in  launching  this  bi-ennial  report, 
there  is  one  fact  that  makes  me  confident  you  will  like  it;  it  is  short. 
Thirty  minutes  will  suffice  to  go  clear  through  from  cover  to  cover. 
If  you  find  one  section  of  consequence,  the  gist  of  which  you  were 
not  already  familiar  with,  then  you  will  be  repaid  as  a  public  ser¬ 
vant  for  the  time  spent.  If  you  find  nothing  at  all  not  already  clear¬ 
ly  apprehended,  then  rejoice  that  you  are  so  well-informed,  and 
regard  the  brochure  still  as  having  definite  value  for  circulation 
among  a  limited  number  of  interested  citizens  and  for  exchange 
with  other  cities  which  issue  similar  publications.  Comparisons  of 
policies,  costs  and  results  are  always  interesting  and  frequently 
stimulating.  The  reports  which  I  receive  from  other  Superinten¬ 
dents  constitute  a  very  definite  factor  in  keeping  me  qualified  for 
my  task.  Some  of  these  may  indicate  wider  scope  of  effort,  some 
may  indicate  higher  achievements,  but  none  I  am  sure  represents 
a  School  Committee  more  able,  more  responsible,  more  helpful, 
more  considerate  than  the  Board  of  Education  which  I  have  the 
honor  and  the  pleasure  to  serve. 

Of  course  it  is  true  that  in  spite  of  the  very  best  and  strongest 
support,  there  are  times  when  it  is  not  all  smooth  sailing.  Difficul¬ 
ties  in  administration  occasionally  appear,  and  disappointments  are 
bound  to  be  met.  Death  takes  its  yearly  toll  of  pupils  and  teachers, 
disease  insidiously  finds;  its  way  among  us.  The  war  has  laid  its 
levy  upon  our  number  and  we  must  stand  ready  to  face  with  reso¬ 
lute  spirit  whatever  demands  the  future  may  have  in  store.  We 
have  already  taken  note  of  the  great  loss  we  sustain  in  the  passing 
of  our  High  School  Principal.  It  was  also  a  very  real  affliction 
to  our  schools  when  Joseph  Joynt,  for  many  years  our  loyal  and 
efficient  attendance  officer  succumbed  in  November,  1917,  to  a  fatal 
malady.  For  the  war  we  yield  the  services  of  our  former  Medical 
Inspector,  Dr.  L.  C.  Stuart;  of  our  High  School  Science  teacher, 
John  G.  Boyd ;  of  our  grade  manual  training  instructor,  Ralph  S. 
Smith ;  and  of  William  M.  Lowerre,  Principal  of  Thomas  St.  School. 
The  Honor  Roll  of  those  who  have  studied  in  our  schools  and  have 
gained  there  the  patriotic  impulse  which  has  carried  them  into  the 
battle  line  of  democracy  is  too  long  to  be  included  here,  but  it  is 
pleasant  to  think  of  them  as  the  abundant  justification  of  all  the 
effort  of  past  years  in  the  development  of  our  system  of  public 
education.  That  Honor  Roll  challenges  us  to  yet  greater  effort  in 
providing  all  needful  opportunities  to  the  boys  and  girls  still  in  our 
schools  —  that  splendid  army  which  Herman  Hagedorn  character¬ 
izes  as  “the  hope  of  the  world.” 


8 


WHAT  THE  SCHOOLS  TRY  TO  DO 

The  end  sought  to  be  attained  by  the  public  schools  is  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  good  citizenship.  No  other  end  would  justify  their 
operation  at  public  expense.  Since  good  citizenship  involves  such 
intangible  elements  as  industry,  self-reliance,  honor,  public  spirit, 
etc.,  the  degree  of  achievement  is  difficult  or  impossible  to  measure. 
But  the  schools  deal  primarily  with  means  toward  the  one  great  end. 
Results  with  the  principal  means  toward  the  desired  end  are  capable 
of  being  at  least  partially  ascertained.  The  means  which  we  regard 
as  most  important  for  the  final  result  are  three:  skill,  knowledge, 
judgment.  This  may  be  illustrated  by  saying  that  when  a  pupil 
works  on  paper  a  problem  in  arithmetic,  he  exhibits  in  the  way  he 
makes  the  figures,  writes  the  words  and  arranges  the  work  certain 
skills  which  he  has  acquired  in  school ;  he  exhibits  in  the  way  he 
has  performed  fundamental  operations  involved  in  his  problem,  a 
certain  body  of  knowledge  which  he  has  acquired  by  the  study  of 
former  lessons ;  he  exhibits  by  the  way  he  has  analyzed  his  problem 
and  reasoned  out  his  conclusions  a  power  of  judgment  which  he  has 
acquired  by  gradually  strengthening  his  thought  processes  as  he  has 
worked  his  way  in  school  from  the  simple  to  the  complex. 

As  an  indication  of  what  we  are  actually  accomplishing  along 
each  of  these  lines,  there  follow  concrete  examples  of  acquired 
skill,  acquired  knowledge  and  acquired  judgment,  selected  almost 
at  random  from  examination  papers  written  in  June,  1918. 

The  first  exhibit,  which  is  designed  to  show  skill  in  penmanship, 
gives  a  reproduction  of  the  signatures  of  every  member  of  the  class 
in  one  section  of  the  8A  Grade. 


9 


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11 


^4 — 


For  the  second  exhibit,  that  which  indicates  the  acquirement  of 
knowledge,  a  vast  amount  of  material  might  be  brought  forward. 
People  are  quite  generally  inclined  to  think  of  this  as  the  only  very 
important  function  of  the  schools.  While  this  is  not  true,  it  is 
nevertheless  a  fact  that  it  constitutes  a  large  part  of  our  tangible 
result.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  easiest  to  measure,  and  for  that  reason 
usually  receives  undue  prominence,  both  in  class-room  teaching  and 
in  supervisory  examinations. 

A  single  question  in  a  single  subject  will  suffice  for  illustration. 

In  5A  Geography  this  was  one  of  the  questions  asked: 

“What  and  where  are  five  of  the  following:  Nile,  Sydney, 
Honolulu,  Tanganyika,  Rhodesia,  Tasmania?” 

Since  the  question  covers  a  part  of  the  world  not  frequently  men¬ 
tioned  in  either  the  market  reports  or  the  war  dispatches,  think  for 
a  moment  how  you  would  answer  that  question  yourself,  before 
you  read  this  specimen  reply  written  by  Bert  F.  Odell,  aged  eleven 
years. 

“The  Nile  River  flows  north  from  Lake  Victoria  into  the 
Mediterranean  Sea. 

“Sydney,  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Australia,  is  a  city. 

“Honolulu  — * 

“Tanganyika  is  a  lake  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Africa. 

“Rhodesia  is  a  country  in  Africa  in  the  south  central  part. 

“Tasmania  is  an  island  southeast  of  Australia.” 

Of  course  every  correct  answer  would  be  substantially  like  this, 
so  nothing  would  be  gained  by  printing  others. 


The  third  exhibit  will  show  a  few  typical  answers  to  questions 
designed  to  call  out  original  thought  on  the  part  of  the  pupil,  and  to 
test  his  powers  of  discrimination. 

One  question  asked  in  8B  History  was  this : 

“Mention  three  events  that  led  to  the  revolt  of  the  American 
colonies,  and  state  how  you  think  these  compared  in  importance 
with  the  events  which  caused  our  country  to  declare  war  on 
Germany.” 

The  varying  mental  reactions  to  such  a  question  are  illustrated 
by  three  answers  which,  after  attending  to  the  first  part  of  the  ques¬ 
tion  (a  knowledge  test),  diverge  as  follows: 

(a)  “I  think  these  events  were  not  as  important  as  those 
that  led  up  to  the  present  war.  The  events  that  led  up  to  the 
Revolution  were  a  good  many  small  events,  while  the  events  that 
led  up  to  the  present  war  were  large,  such  as  the  torpedoing  of 
American  ships,  etc.” — Ernest  White. 

( b )  “The  causes  of  America  entering  war  with  Germany  are 
different  than  the  past.  In  the  first  place,  American  colonies 
were  fighting  for  independence,  now  for  humanity.” 

— Emmanuel  Digiacomo. 

( c )  “Both  times  we  declared  war  for  our  rights.  The  differ¬ 
ence  is,  we  declare  war  on  one  for  our  rights  on  land,  and  one 
for  our  rights  on  the  ocean.” — Anna  Hessler. 


13 


Arithmetic  is  the  subject  usually  thought  to  he  the  one  par  excel¬ 
lence,  in  which  judgment  is  trained  and  reasoning  power  developed. 
This  question  for  instance  in  the  8B  Grade,  designed  to  test  quick 
judgment,  gave  within  the  96  seconds  allowed  for  an  answer,  45 
correct  results  out  of  a  total  of  50. 

“Which  is  better  business :  to  buy  a  lawnmower  which  will 
last  10  years  for  $14.00,  or  to  buy  one  which  will  last  3  years 
for  $5.00?” 


As  an  illustration  of  sustained  reasoning  power  without  actual 
calculation,  here  is  one  from  the  7 A  Arithmetic  examination : 

“The  regular  price  of  woolen  blankets,  the  rate  of  discount 
allowed  to  the  U.  S.  Government  and  the  number  of  blankets 
given,  how  is  the  total  cost  of  the  blankets  found?” 


As  a  specimen  answer  the  following  written  by  Esther  Bingham 
is  reproduced : 

“To  find  the  total  cost  of  the  blankets  first  multiply  the  cost 
of  one  blanket  by  the  rate  of  discount  and  the  product  is  the 
discount.  Second,  subtract  the  discount  from  the  regular  price  of 
one  blanket,  then  the  remainder  is  the  net  price  of  one  blanket 
to  the  U.  S.  Government.  Third,  multiply  the  net  price  of  one 
blanket  by  the  number  of  blankets  given  and  the  product  is  the 
total  cost  of  blankets  to  the  U.  S.  Government.” 


Arithmetic,  however,  does  not  stand  alone  in  its  value  as  a  thought 
developing  subject  of  study.  Every  subject  in  the  elementary  cur¬ 
riculum  may  be  made  to  yield  its  quota  of  thought  producing  values 
along  with  the  knowledge  and  the  skills  pertaining  especially  to  it. 


Take  Spelling  for  instance: 

In  our  Course  of  Study  in  Spelling  much  use  of  the  Dictionary  is 
encouraged.  One  of  the  questions  in  the  June  examination  of  the 
Seventh  Grade  attempted  to  measure  how  much  of  the  use  of  the 
dictionary  is  mechanical  and  how  much  is  really  thoughtful.  The 
question  was  “What  is  the  difference  between  an  oboe  and  a  saxo¬ 
phone?”  Before  asking  the  question  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
dictionaries  in  common  use  by  the  pupils  not  only  defined  both  words 
but  also  gave  illustrations  of  both  instruments.  The  answers  could 
very  quickly  be  thrown  into  three  groups  :  (1)  Those  which  showed 

unmistakeably  a  lack  of  comprehension  of  the  question  or  of  ability 
to  cope  with  it.  (2)  Those  which  showed  mechanical  ability  but 
left  indeterminate  whether  the  pupil  actually  grasped  a  real  distinc¬ 
tion  or  not.  (3)  Those  which  pointed  out  a  clear  distinction  indi¬ 
cating  a  mental  reaction  on  the  question.  The  first  group  was 
smallest,  the  third  group  next  in  size,  while  the  second  group,  as 
might  have  been  expected  held  a  majority  of  all  the  answers.  The 
following  answers,  every  one  written  by  children  of  Italian  paren¬ 
tage,  illustrate  each  group : 

14 


GROUP  I 

(а)  The  difference  between  the  oboe  and  saxophone  are  the 
same. 

(б)  The  oboe  has  high  winds  and  the  '  saxophone  has  one 
wind. 

GROUP  II 

(o)  Oboe.  One  of  the  higher  wind  instruments.  Saxophone. 

A  keyed  instrument  having  the  reed  mouthpiece  of  a  clarinet. 

GROUP  III 

(a)  The  difference  between  a  saxophone  and  an  oboe  is  the 
saxophone  looks  something  like  a  pipe  and  the  oboe  looks  like  a 
clarinet. 

( b )  The  oboe  hasn’t  any  mouthpiece  like  a  clarinet.  The 
saxophone  has  a  reed  mouthpiece  like  a  clarinet  and  isn’t  as 
high  a  tone. 

Of  course  it  is  not  possible  within  these  covers  to  display  with 
any  approach  to  adequacy,  the  results  which  are  being  attained.  It 
is  only  hoped  that  the  foregoing  will  give  a  suggestive  glimpse  of 
the  effort  being  made  as  it  appears  in  a  cross-section  of  a  few  sub¬ 
jects  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  school-acquired  skill,  knowledge 
and  judgment. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  stated  that  if  there  is  evidenced  anywhere 
in  school  work  a  definite  promise  of  the  ultimate  end  —  good  citizen¬ 
ship,  it  might  best  be  looked  for  in  that  part  of  the  English  work 
called  Written  Composition.  Here,  if  anywhere,  the  spirit  and  pur¬ 
pose  of  children’s  lives  will  be  made  manifest.  I  therefore  conclude 
the  exhibit  by  reproducing  two  sample  compositions  written  by 
pupils  in  the  8B  Grade  last  June  in  compliance  with  the  request  to 
write  a  brief  composition  on  the  subject: 

“Go  to  work  or  go  to  High  School:  Which  is  more  patriotic ?” 

Although  opposite  in  conclusion,  the  similarity  in  patriotic  tone 
will  be  quite  apparent: 

(a)  “Go  to  work  and  help  win  the  war.  I  think  it  is  more 
patriotic  to  go  to  work  than  to  go  to  High  School.  One  that 
goes  to  work  rather  than  go  to  High  School  can  help  by  making 
war  implements. 

If  you  go  to  High  School  you  do  not  help  the  Government 
any,  because  you  do  it  for  your  own  good.  You  have  to  spend 
money  for  books  and  many  other  things. 

But  if  you  go  to  work  you  can  earn  your  own  money  and 
buy  your  own  clothes,  while  your  father  or  parents  may  buy 
bonds  and  help  fill  the  War  Chest  and  also  buy  War  Savings 
Stamps  with  the  money  they  have  to  spend  for  you.  You  can 
also  buy  those  things,  but  you  can’t  unless  you  have  money. 

That  is  why  I  think  it  is  more  patriotic  to  go  to  work  than  to 
go  to  High  School.  Go  to  work  if  you  are  of  age  and  help 
Uncle  Sam.” — Rose  Romane. 

( b )  “The  United  States  is  sending  all  the  young  intelligent 
men  over  to  France,  from  where  they  will  probably  never  come 
back.  If  they  do,  they  will  probably  be  dead  or  maimed  for  life. 


15 


Now,  who  is  going  to  take  their  places?  Why,  it  will  have 
to  be  the  next  generation.  Who  else  could  it  be?  The  boys  and 
girls  that  are  in  school  today  will  take  their  places.  This  is  one 
reason  the  Government  has  for  wanting  the  children  to  stay  in 
school  and  finish  their  education  so  they  will  be  fit  to  carry  on 
the  business  of  this  fast  growing  nation. 

And  now  another  question.  How  can  under-educated  men 
take  the  places  of  the  ones  that  have  gone  before  us?  They  can’t 
do  it,  and  do  it  successfully.  Why  not?  Because  to  succeed 
requires  knowledge  of  what  must  be  done  and  how  to  do  it.  The 
Grammar  Schools,  High  Schools  and  Colleges  are  the  places  to 
secure  this  knowledge.  This  is  another  reason  why  the  Govern¬ 
ment  wants  the  Grammar  School  children  to  finish  their  education 
and  go  to  High  School. 

Let  the  men  who  are  physically  unfit  to  fight  for  freedom  do 
the  work  today  and  the  school  children  do  the  work  tomorrow. 
In  so  doing  they  will  be  helping  the  Government  greatly,  keeping 
the  flag  proudly  floating  ‘O’er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home 
of  the  brave’.” — Theodore  Dickinson. 


16 


EFFECT  OF  THE  WAR  UPON  THE  SCHOOLS 


With  the  outbreak  of  actual  hostilities  in  April,  1917,  there  came 
upon  the  nation  not  only  responsibilities  of  utterly  new  character 
and  of  tremendous  weight  and  magnitude,  but  also  a  feeling  of 
exultation  that  America  had  stepped  into  the  place  beside  the  Allies 
which  destiny  had  unmistakeably  created  for  her.  Nowhere  was 
this  feeling  more  universal  and  intense  than  in  the  educational  in¬ 
stitutions  of  the  country.  While  the  pupils  in  elementary  and  sec¬ 
ondary  schools  were  not  by  their  age  permitted  to  join  their  col¬ 
legiate  elder  brothers  in  actual  military  service,  all  were  anxious  to 
do  their  part  in  such  a  mobilization  of  the  whole  nation  as  would 
make  actual  military  service  effective  in  the  highest  degree.  From 
a  multitude  of  opportunities  offered  and  in  many  instances  urged 
upon  the  schools,  we  have  chosen  to  direct  our  efforts  along  four 
rather  definite  lines,  viz. :  Information,  Finance,  Production,  Ameli¬ 
oration. 

In  furtherance  of  the  first  named,  pupils  in  grades  far  enough 
advanced  to  benefit  by  it  are  invited  to  become  subscribers  to  a  little 
weekly  newspaper  called  “Current  Events,”  and  discussions  are  held 
during  the  few  minutes  allotted  to  opening  exercises  on  subjects 
concerned  with  the  progress  of  the  war  and  the  varied  responsibili¬ 
ties  resting  upon  the  citizenship  of  a  republic  at  war.  Teachers  are 
supplied  with  copies  of  a  most  valuable  publication  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment  Bureau  of  Education  entitled  “Lessons  in  Community  and  Na¬ 
tional  Life.”  This  is  published  in  three  series  adapted  respectively 
to  the  Intermediate  Grades,  the  Grammar  Grades  and  the  High 
School.  Each  one  is  a  veritable  mine  of  educational  material  skill¬ 
fully  adapted  to  the  development  of  an  interested,  intelligent,  patrio¬ 
tic  citizenship  upon  which  in  large  measure  must  rest  both  the  suc¬ 
cessful  prosecution  of  the  war  and  the  wise  application  of  economic 
laws  involved  in  a  healthy  reconstruction  during  the  succeeding 
years  of  peace.  From  these  96  lessons  I  submit  as  a  fair  sample 
these  five :  “The  War  and  Aeroplanes,”  “Preventing  Waste  of 
Human  Beings,”  “Money  in  the  Community  and  the  Home,”  “Em¬ 
ployment  Agencies,”  “Substitute  Foods.” 

Along  the  second  line,  after  some  desultory  attempts  with  Lib¬ 
erty  Bonds  and  Savings  Certificates,  we  settled  down  to  a  systema¬ 
tic  effort  to  advance  the  sale  of  Thrift  Stamps.  From  the  first  of 
February  we  have  kept  a  careful  record  of  sales,  and  in  the  five 
months  elapsing  before  the  close  of  schools  in  June,  pupils  had  sold 
to  themselves  and  their  friends  a  quantity  of  stamps  aggregating  in 
value  $12,187.50.  The  greater  part  of  this  amount  represents  the 
actual  savings  of  the  pupils  themselves.  Through  a  patriotic  im¬ 
pulse  about  60%  of  all  pupils  enrolled  in  the  Rome  Schools  are 
systematically  pursuing  a  course  of  self-denial  and  industry  by  which 
they  are  enabled  to  practice  that  form  of  thrift  so  great  in  its  ad¬ 
vantages  to  the  nation  and  to  the  individual. 


17 


Turning  to  the  third  line,  increased  production,  we  have  at  the 
request  of  the  State  Department  and  in  common  with  other  schools 
of  the  state  excused  from  attendance  pupils  over  16  years  of  age 
who  wished  in  spring  and  fall  to  give  all  their  effort  to  farm  or 
garden  work,  provided  their  scholastic  standings  at  the  time  of  such 
excuse  were  sufficiently  high  to  be  regarded  as  satisfactory.  We 
have,  however,  made  no  attempt  to  encourage  this,  as  it  seemed 
to  be  founded  on  unsound  principles.  To  give  a  boy  credit  for  do¬ 
ing  6  months’  work  in  Algebra  because  of  the  fact  that  he  did  3 
months’  work  in  Algebra  and  3  months’  work  in  a  corn  field  is 
stretching  a  point  which  may  have  immediate  advantages  to  the  corn 
crop,  but  which  will  still  more  surely  have  ultimate  disadvantages 
to  the  boy  himself.  Another  and  much  more  commendable  idea  is 
that  which  seeks  to  make  boys  and  girls  producers  while  carrying 
on  their  school  work  uninterruptedly.  War  Gardens  for  school 
children  were  warmly  advised  in  1917  and  a  good  start  was  made. 
In  the  spring  of  1918  a  more  vigorous  and  more  effective  effort 
was  made.  In  co-operation  with  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  the 
schools  secured  the  services  of  a  paid  garden  supervisor.  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  say  how  many  gardens  were  cultivated  this  year  by 
school  children,  but  the  number  cannot  be  less  than  300,  and  I  am 
inclined  to  think  500  would  be  nearer  right.  The  Rome  Trust  Co. 
offered  a  Prize  Cup  to  the  pupil  who  should,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
judges,  exhibit  the  best-planned,  the  best  cared-for  and  the  best- 
producing  garden  in  the  city.  The  prize  has  just  been  awarded  to 
Francis  Foster,  a  student  in  the  High  School.  On  a  plot  50  ft.  by 
168  ft.  he  produced  family  quantities  of  19  varieties  of  vegetables. 


The  expenses  of  cultivation  were: 

170  hours’  own  work . . . $25.50 

70  hours’  adult  work . . 17.50 

4*4  hours’  horse  work . . . 65 

Cost  of  seeds  and  plants .  9.90 

Cost  of  manure  and  fertilizer .  4.50 

Other  expenses . . .  7.97 


Total  expense . $  66.02 

The  receipts  were : 

Products  sold . . . $81.05 

Value  of  products  used  at  home .  35.00 


Total  receipts . .. . $116.05 

Total  expense .  66.02 


Net  income . . $  50.03 


Of  course  this  was  the  prize  garden,  but  if  the  average  produc¬ 
tion  of  300  competing  gardens  were  only  one-tenth  of  this  one,  then 
the  school  children  of  Rome  must  have  produced  in  their  War  Gar¬ 
dens  in  1918  an  aggregate  value  of  $3,500.00.  I  believe  the  aggre- 


18 


gate  was  really  more  than  this,  but  whatever  it  was,  it  was  accom¬ 
plished  entirely  outside  of  school  hours,  and  helped  rather  than  hin¬ 
dered  the  all-round  harmonious  development  of  physical  and  mental 
powers  and  of  character. 

Passing  to  the  fourth  line  of  endeavor,  amelioration,  the  schools 
have  entered  with  splendid  heartiness  into  the  work  of  the  Junior 
Red  Cross.  One  hundred  per  cent  membership  was  assured  to 
every  school  by  the  action  of  the  War  Chest  Association  in  appro¬ 
priating  from  its  funds  an  amount  equivalent  to  Twenty-five  Cents 
for  each  registered  pupil.  Under  the  direction  of  Miss  M.  Elizabeth 
Beach,  principals,  teachers  and  pupils  have  accomplished  marvelous 
results.  Wherever  it  has  been  practical,  the  regular  work  of  the 
schools  has  been  turned  into  Red  Cross  channels.  Thus,  the  manual 
training  department  has  made  picture-puzzles  for  convalescing 
soldiers  in  place  of  broom-holders  for  their  mothers ;  the  sewing 
classes  have  made  clothes  for  Belgian  babies  instead  of  aprons  for 
themselves ;  the  art  department  has  made  Red  Cross  posters  instead 
of  designs  for  wall  paper;  even  the  English  classes  have  written 
compositions  on  various  phases  of  Red  Cross  work  in  substitution 
for  topics  suggested  by  literature  and  school  experiences. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  war  has  put  virility  and  reality  into  school 
work.  It  has  furnished  a  motive  for  the  doing  of  many  things,  and 
has  put  seriousness  of  purpose  into  all  of  it.  It  has  impressed  upon 
us,  through  the  four  lines  of  activity  mentioned,  the  need  of  a 
broader  knowledge  of  local  and  national  affairs,  the  value  of  thrift 
in  both  individuals  and  groups,  the  dignity  of  labor,  the  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  soil  and  of  the  conditions  of  vegetable  growth,  and  most 
of  all  the  durable  satisfaction  of  working  for  others  in  a  common 
effort  to  express  gratitude,  to  bring  cheer  into  misfortune  and  to 
bring  relief  into  suffering. 


19 


PROGRESS  AND  PROMOTION 

A  —  In  the  Elementary  Schools  : 

In  the  Kindergarten  and  Primary  Grades  promotion  depends 
solely  upon  the  judgment  of  the  teacher  and  principal.  In  the  Inter¬ 
mediate  Grades,  a  written  examination  is  given  at  the  close  of  each 
term,  the  standing  in  this  examination  counting  as  one-third  and  the 
class  standing  counting  two-thirds  in  determining  promotion.  The 
examinations  of  the  Fourth  Grade  are  set  by  the  teacher,  with  the 
approval  of  the  principal.  Those  of  the  grades  above  the  fourth 
are  set  by  the  Superintendent,  except  in  grades  having  a  Regent’s 
Examination  prescribed.  In  these  cases  the  Regent’s  Examinations 
are  substituted  for  the  Superintendent’s  examinations.  Promotion 
in  every  grade  is  earned  by  attaining  an  average  of  75%  with  no 
subject  lower  than  60%.  The  accompanying  figures  show  that  in 
general  about  one  child  in  every  ten  fails  each  term  to  satisfy  the 
conditions.  This  results  in  retardation  and  over-age  affecting  in 
round  numbers  about  one-third  of  all  the  pupils  registered  at  any 
one  time  in  the  elementary  schools : 


PROMOTION  FROM  KINDERGARTEN 


SCHOOL 

1917 

1918 

Term 

, 

Net  Reg¬ 
istration 

Number 

Promoted 

Per  Cent 

Term 

Net  Reg¬ 
istration 

Number 

Promoted 

Per  Cent 

Liberty  Street. . . 

First 

44 

38 

First 

42 

38 

Second 

34 

31 

Second 

26 

24 

Both 

78 

69 

88 

Both 

68 

62 

91 

Thomas  Street.. 

First 

51 

43 

First 

77 

72 

Second 

51 

50 

Second 

56 

51 

Both 

102 

93 

91 

Both 

133 

123 

93 

Willett  . 

First 

123 

106 

First 

135 

112 

Second 

126 

106 

Second 

109 

97 

Both 

249 

212 

85 

Both 

244 

209 

86 

East  Rome . 

First 

111 

78 

First 

117 

89 

Second 

108 

73 

Second 

106 

88 

Both 

219 

151 

69 

Both 

223 

177 

79 

Jay  Street . 

First 

61 

52 

First 

67 

56 

Second 

59 

52 

Second 

59 

53 

Both 

120 

104 

87 

Both 

126 

109 

87 

Gansevoort  . 

First 

57 

43 

First 

43 

38 

Second 

49 

48 

Second 

36 

33 

Both 

106 

91 

86 

Both 

79 

71 

90 

All  Schools . 

First 

447 

360 

First 

481 

405 

Second 

417 

360 

Second 

392 

346 

Both 

864 

720 

83 

Both 

873 

751 

86 

20 


PROMOTIONS  FROM  PRIMARY  DEPARTMENT 


(Grades  1,  2  and  3) 


j 

SCHOOL 

1917 

1918 

Term 

Net  Reg¬ 
istration 

Number 

Promoted 

Per  Cent 

Term 

Net  Reg¬ 

istration 

Number 

Promoted 

Per  Cent 

Liberty  Street. . . 

First 

145 

128 

First 

140 

131 

Second 

142 

134 

Second 

132 

115 

Both 

287 

262 

91 

Both 

272 

246 

90 

Thomas  Streeet. 

First 

180 

168 

First 

190 

170 

Second 

177 

166 

Second 

208 

183 

Both 

357 

334 

93 

Both 

398 

353 

89 

Willett . 

First 

261 

210 

First 

349 

310 

Second 

306 

261 

Second 

378 

335 

Both 

567 

471 

83 

Both 

727 

645 

89 

East  Rome . 

First 

309 

286 

First 

310 

269 

Second 

298 

269 

Second 

313 

275 

Both 

607 

555 

91 

Both 

623 

544 

87 

Jay  Street . 

First 

158 

142 

First 

152 

146 

Second 

163 

141 

Second 

155 

131 

Both 

308 

283 

91 

Both 

307 

277 

90 

Gansevoort  . 

First 

129 

112 

First 

141 

115 

Second 

135 

128 

Second 

147 

142 

Both 

264 

240 

91 

Both 

288 

257 

89 

All  Schools . 

First 

1182 

1046 

First 

1282 

1141 

Second 

1211 

1099 

Second 

1328 

1181 

Both 

2393 

2145 

90 

Both 

2610 

2322 

89 

21 


PROMOTIONS  FROM  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


(Grades  4,  5  and  6) 


SCHOOL 

1917 

1918 

Term 

Net  Reg¬ 
istration 

Number 

Promoted 

Per  Cent 

Term 

Net  Reg¬ 

istration 

Number 

Promoted 

Per  Cent 

Liberty  Street. . . 

First 

221 

196 

First 

209 

171 

Second 

201 

187 

Second 

184 

177 

Both 

422 

383 

91 

Both 

403 

348 

86 

Thomas  Street.. 

First 

196 

167 

First 

195 

183 

Second 

209 

192 

Second 

179 

167 

Both 

405 

359 

89 

Both 

374 

350 

94 

Willett  . 

First 

138 

126 

First 

244 

207 

Second 

150 

137 

Second 

264 

229 

Both 

288 

263 

91 

Both 

508 

436 

86 

East  Rome . 

First 

168 

151 

First 

107 

98 

Second 

154 

142 

Second 

109 

98 

Both 

322 

293 

91 

Both 

216 

196 

91 

Jay  Street . 

First 

94 

77 

First 

89 

76 

Second 

99 

92 

Second 

98 

91 

Both 

193 

169 

93 

Both 

187 

167 

89 

Gansevoort . 

First 

35 

31 

First 

43 

33 

Second 

26 

25 

Second 

41 

39 

Both 

61 

56 

92 

Both 

84 

72 

86 

All  Schools . 

First 

852 

748 

First 

887 

768 

Second 

839 

765 

Second 

885 

801 

Both 

1691 

1513 

89 

Both 

1722 

1569 

89 

22 


PROMOTIONS  FROM  GRAMMAR  DEPARTMENT 
(Grades  7  and  8) 


SCHOOL 

1917 

1918 

Term 

Net  Reg¬ 

istration 

Number 

Promoted 

Per  Cent 

Term 

Net  Reg¬ 

istration 

Number 

Promoted 

Per  Cent 

Liberty  Street. . . 

First 

151 

143 

First 

148 

136 

Second 

153 

145 

Second 

137 

128 

Both 

304 

288 

95 

Both 

285 

264 

93 

Thomas  Street.. 

First 

133 

122 

First 

152 

136 

Second 

130 

107 

Second 

175 

157 

Both 

263 

229 

87 

Both 

327 

293 

90 

All  Schools . 

First 

284 

265 

First 

300 

272 

Second 

283 

252 

Second 

312 

285 

Both 

567 

517  | 

91 

Both 

612 

557 

91 

TOTAL  PROMOTIONS  FROM  ALL  DEPARTMENTS 
(Kindergarten  to  Eighth  Grade,  Inclusive) 


SCHOOL 

1917 

1918 

Term 

^4*1  1 

Net  Reg¬ 
istration 

Number 

Promoted 

Per  Cent 

Term 

Net  Reg¬ 
istration 

Number 

Promoted 

Per  Cent 

Liberty  Street . . . 

First 

561 

505 

First 

539 

476 

Second 

530 

497 

Second 

489 

i  444 

Both 

1091 

1002 

92 

Both 

1028 

920 

89 

Thomas  Street.. 

First 

560 

500 

First 

614 

561 

Second 

567 

515 

Second 

613 

558 

Both 

1127 

1015 

90 

Both 

1227 

1119 

91 

Willett . 

First 

522 

442 

First 

728 

629 

Second 

582 

504 

Second 

751 

661 

Both 

1104 

946 

85 

Both 

1479 

1280 

88 

East  Rome . 

First 

588 

515 

First 

534 

456 

Second 

560 

484 

Second 

528 

461 

Both 

1158 

999 

86 

Both 

1062 

917 

86 

Jay  Street . 

First 

313 

271 

First 

308 

278 

Second 

311 

285 

Second 

401 

351 

Both 

624 

556 

89 

Both 

709 

629 

88 

Gansevoort . 

First 

221 

186 

First 

227 

186 

Second 

210 

201 

Second 

224 

214 

Both 

431 

387 

89 

Both 

451 

400 

89 

All  Schools . 

First 

2765 

2419 

First 

2950 

2586 

Second 

2760 

2486 

Second 

3006 

2689 

Both 

5525 

4905 

89 

Both 

5956 

5255 

88 

23 


B.  In  the  High  School : 


Unlike  most  schools  of  New  York  State,  Rome  Free  Academy 
does  not  make  the  passing  of  Regent’s  Examinations  a  sole  requisite 
for  promotion  and  graduation.  Class  standing  has  an  equal  value 
with  the  State  Examination  in  the  computation.  As  a  consequence 
of  this  a  certain  number  of  pupils  each  term  receive  school  credit 
for  work  which  according  to  the  State  standards  could  have  no  re¬ 
ward.  There  is  no  disposition,  however,  to  minimize  the  great  de¬ 
sirability  of  passing  the  State  Examinations  and  passing  them  with 
high  marks.  An  analysis  of  our  State  record  taken  by  itself  shows 
the  necessity  for  vigorous  effort  in  promoting  a  higher  standard  of 
achievement.  In  1916,  the  State  Department  of  Education  started 
the  custom  of  publishing  in  detail  the  record  of  the  City  High 
Schools  distinct  from  all  other  academic  departments.  A  compar¬ 
ison  of  results  in  our  own  High  School,  with  the  aggregate  results 
of  all  the  City  High  Schools,  is,  if  not  gratifying,  at  least  stimulat¬ 


ing: 

No.  Pupils 
Instructed 

January  and  June,  1916  — 

All  High  Schools  (92)  in  all  the  cities 


of  the  State . 278,036 

Rome  Free  Academy .  1,400 

January  and  June,  1917  — 

All  High  Schools  (97)  in  all  the  cities 

of  the  State . 261,240 

Rome  Free  Academy .  1,163 

January  and  June,  1918  — 

All  High  Schools  in  all  the  cities  of  Not  yet 

the  State . published 

Rome  Free  Academy .  1,367 


No.  Papers 

Per  Cent 

Accepted 

Efficient 

205,378 

73.8 

890 

63.5 

181,020 

69.2 

718 

61.7 

Not  yet 

Not  yet 

published 

published 

887 

64.9 

ATTENDANCE  STATISTICS 


No.  pupils  registered  in  Grade  Schools . 

No.  pupils  registered  in  High  School . 

No.  pupils  registered  in  all  schools . 

Aggregate  number  days’  attendance  all  schools 
Average  daily  attendance  all  schools . 


1916-1917 

1917-1918 

, . .  3,096 

3,314 

...  463 

453 

. . .  3,559 

3,767 

, .  .538,803 

571.153 

. . .  2,912 

3,063 

FINANCIAL 


Receipts 

Balance  on  hand  at  beginning  of  year. . 

Public  money  for  teachers’  wages . 

Deducted  for  teachers’  retirement . 

Public  money  for  Library  and  apparatus 
Public  money  for  quota  and  attendance. 

Public  money  for  tuition  ac.  pupils . 

Tuition  from  individual  pupils . 

Tax  on  property . 

Sale  of  bonds . 

Miscellaneous  sources . 

Total  receipts . 


For  Year  Ending 
July  31,  1917 
. .  .$  85,566.16 
. . .  9,134.93 

756.76 
87.32 
368.67 
861.03 
. . .  2,088.54 

. ..  120,300.00 
. . .  75,572.70 
545.08 


$295,281.19 


For  Year  Ending 
July  31,  1918 
$141,051.50 
10,315.30 
777.11 
165.27 


2,315.71 

141,000.00 


1.926.72 


$297,551.61 


24 


For  Year  Ending 


Payments  July  31, 1917 

Expenses  of  General  Control . $  4,685.03 

“  Instruction  .  76,462.83 

“  “  Operation  .  12,038.20 

“  Maintenance .  2,640.07 

“  Auxiliary  Activitiees .  1,199.90 

“  Fixed  Charges .  1,745.67 

“  Debt  Service .  9,723.26 

“  “  Capital  Outlay .  45,734.73 


For  Year  Ending 
July  31,  1918 
$  5,025.85 
81,456.66 
18,336.26 
3,677.53 
1,543.77 
2,247.47 
17,568.38 
47,110.88 


Total  Payments . $154,229.69  $176,966.80 

Balancec .  141,051.50  120,584.81 


Total  Payments  and  Balance . $295,281.19 


$297,551.61 


BONDS  OUTSTANDING 


School  Amount  Rate  Maturity 

Liberty  Street . $  41,000.00  4  %  1928 

East  Rome .  10,000.00  4^%  1923 

Gansevoort .  25,000.00  4 y2%  1923 

Willett .  74,200.00  4 ]/2%  1939 


$150,200.00 


INSURANCE 


School  Building 

Amount  (80%  of 
estimated  actual  value) 

Contents 

Academy . 

. $  80,000.00 

$7,500.00 

Liberty  Street . . 

.  40,000.00 

770.00 

Gansevoort . 

.  21.600.00 

275.00 

Thomas  Street . 

.  48,000.00 

775.00 

Jay  Street . 

.  20,000.00 

330.00 

Willett . 

.  56,400.00 

1,000.00 

South  James  Street... 

.  10,000.00 

200.00 

East  Rome . 

. . .  36,000.00 

650.00 

Vocational  . 

.  5,000.00 

1,000.00 

Total . 

. . . $317,000.00 

$12,500.00 

HEALTH  STATISTICS 

Medical  Inspector,  Sept.,  1916,  to  June,  1917 . Dr.  L.  C.  Stuart 

Medical  Inspector,  Sept.,  1917,  to  Feb.,  1918 . Vacant 

Medical  Inspector,,  Feb.,  1918,  to  June,  1918 . Dr.  M.  Levitan 


Year  Ending 
July  31,  1917 

Year  Ending 
July  31, 1918 

No. 

pupils  examined  by  medical  inspector . 

. . .  .2,284 

1,170 

U 

found  with  defective  vision . 

. ...  112 

55 

“ 

treated  for  above . . 

. . . .  34 

1 

a 

tt 

found  with  defective  hearing . . 

. . . .  37 

3 

a 

it 

treated  for  above . 

....  2 

0 

it 

it 

found  with  defective  temporary  teeth...  63 

200 

a 

it 

treated  for  above . . 

....  4 

0 

a 

it 

found  with  defective  permanent  teeth 

. . . .  48 

401 

if 

treated  for  above . . . 

. . . .  16 

0 

“ 

it 

found  with  defective  nasal  breathing 

. . . .  78 

223 

it 

treated  for  above . . 

....  11 

21 

a 

it 

found  with  diseased  tonsils . . 

....  365 

214 

a 

it 

treated  for  above . 

. . . .  23 

23 

it 

H 

with  defective  nutrition . 

. . . .  13 

31 

a 

it 

treated  for  above . 

1 

0 

tt 

tt 

found  with  cardiac  disease . 

....  15 

23 

a 

it 

treated  for  above . 

1 

0 

it 

with  pulmonary  disease . 

....  5 

10 

25 

ii 

« 

treated  for  above . 

.  5 

0 

“ 

« 

with  nervous  diseases . 

.  9 

0 

“ 

treated  for  above . 

.  0 

0 

u 

a 

with  orthopedic  defects . 

.  12 

0 

a 

a 

treated  for  above . 

.  12 

0 

a 

“ 

with  skin  or  scalp  conditions . 

.  4 

200 

a 

a 

treated  for  above . 

.  4 

150 

a 

a 

with  other  defects . 

.  20 

17 

treated  for  above . 

.  20 

0 

SUMMER  SESSIONS 

In  the  summer  of  1917,  this  new  departure  was  authorized.  It 
was  decided  to  hold  sessions  from  8  o’clock  until  12  six  days  per 
week  for  six  weeks  in  the  Thomas  Street  School  building,  and  to 
offer  work  in  all  grades  from  the  first  to  the  seventh,  inclusive.  Mr. 
William  Lowerre  was  appointed  principal  with  six  assistants ;  263 
pupils  registered.  Of  these  148  or  less  than  60%  of  the  total  com¬ 
pleted  the  work.  The  school  had  three  distinct  purposes :  First, 
to  help  unusually  capable  children  to  earn  a  double  promotion ; 
second,  to  help  children  who  had  failed  their  grade  in  June  to  make 
up  their  work  so  they  could  be  promoted  with  their  class ;  third,  to 
review  the  past  term’s  work  with  those  who  wished  to  strengthen 
their  preparation  for  the  next  grade.  Of  the  148  who  completed 
the  summer  session  42  came  for  the  first  purpose  stated  above,  and 
38  of  these  were  successful.  Twenty-six  came  for  the  second  pur¬ 
pose,  of  whom  20  were  successful ;  80  came  for  the  third  purpose, 
and  it  is  to  be  assumed  that  all  of  these  were  benefited.  The  cost 
of  conducting  the  session  was  as  follows : 


Principal,  36  days  at  $4.00._ . $144.00 

Six  assistants,  36  days  at  $3.00 .  648.00 

Janitor,  6  weeks  at  $5.00 .  30.00 


Total  . . . . . $822.00 

Per  capital  cost  for  each  successful  pupil . $  5.95 


The  experiment  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  greatest  values  were 
obtained  in  the  middle  grades.  It  was  also  found  that  good  atten¬ 
dance  on  Saturdays  was  difficult  to  secure.  It  was  therefore  voted 
that  for  the  summer  of  1918  instruction  should  be  offered  only  in 
grades  three  to  six  inclusive,  and  that  the  period  of  instruction  should 
be  extended  to  cover  seven  weeks,  giving  only  five  forenoons  each 
week.  Four  teachers  were  appointed,  of  whom  Mrs.  Gladys  A. 
Towner  was  asked  to  act  as  principal.  This  time  117  pupils  regis¬ 
tered,  of  whom  70  remained  full  time;  31  were  trying  to  gain  double 
promotion,  and  22  were  successful  in  the  effort.  Ten  were  trying 
to  make  up  a  failure,  and  seven  of  these  were  successful.  Twenty- 
nine  were  reviewing  a  grade  and  of  course  100%  accomplished 
their  purpose  with  varying  degrees  of  excellence. 


26 


The  cost  this  time  was  reduced  to  the  following  figures : 


Principal,  35  days  at  $4.00 . ....$140,00 

Three  teachers,  35  days  at  $3.00 .  315.00 

Janitor,  35  days  at  $1.00..... .  35.00 


$490.00 

Per  capita  cost  for  each  successful  pupil . . . $  8.45 


The  higher  per  capita  cost  of  the  1918  session  is  due  to  the 
elimination  of  the  first  and  second  grade  which  in  1917  registered 
by  far  the  largest  numbers.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  the  saving 
of  $332  in  the  aggregate  cost  justifies  the  increase  in  the  per  capita, 
inasmuch  as  the  time  element  for  pupils  below  the  third  grade  is  of 
prime  importance.  Intensive  work  can  be  done  much  more  satis¬ 
factorily  with  fifth  grade  pupils  than  with  first  grade  pupils  even 
though  the  latter  seem  much  more  willing  to  undertake  it.  To 
cover  the  work  ordinarily  accomplished  in  18  weeks  of  full  days  in 
7  weeks  of  half-days  cannot  be  regarded  as  other  than  intensive 
work.  I  believe  the  1918  organization  was  a  wholesome  one  and 
that  its  results  will  justify  its  continuance  next  summer. 


TEACHERS 

During  the  year  ending  July  31,  1918,  there  were  102  teaching 
positions  maintained.  Of  these,  4  were  supervisors,  4  were  teachers 
of  special  subjects,  18  were  employed  in  the  High  School  and  the 
remaining  76  were  employed  as  principals  and  teachers  in  the  grade 
schools.  Of  the  total  number  employed,  there  were  9  men  and  93 
women.  Twelve  held  College  Graduate  Certificates  and  71  held 
Normal  School  diplomas.  The  other  19  held  various  grades  of 
license  authorized  by  the  State  Department  of  Education. 


The  salary  schedule  under  which  these  teachers  have  done  their 
work  is  as  follows : 


1st 

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

5th 

6th 

7th 

Year 

Year 

Year 

Year 

Year 

Year 

Year 

*High  School  men . $  900 

$1000 

$1100 

$1200 

$1300 

$1350 

$1400 

*High  School  women .  600 

650 

700 

750 

800 

850 

900 

tGrades  7-8 .  500 

550 

600 

650 

700 

725 

750 

tGrades  1-6  &  Kindergarten  500 

550 

600 

625 

650 

675 

700 

Special  teachers .  600 

650 

700 

725 

750 

775 

800 

Supervisors  .  700 

750 

800 

850 

900 

950 

1000 

Principal  High  School .  1600 

1800 

2000 

2100 

2200 

2300 

2400 

Prin.  Gram.  School  (men)  .  1000 

1100 

1200 

1300 

1400 

1500 

1600 

Prin.  Inter.  School  (women)  Salary  of  grade  teacher  plus  $25  for  each 

room  supervised. 

^College  graduates,  t Normal  graduates. 

Certain  teachers  who  have  taught  the  full  seven  years  with  con¬ 
spicuous  merit  have  received  in  addition  to  the  maximum  salary 
$50  in  the  case  of  the  maximum  being  less  than  $900,  and  $100  in 
the  case  of  the  maximum  being  $900  or  more. 


27 


For  the  ensuing  year,  1918-1919,  a  special  increase  to  partially 
meet  the  increased  cost  of  living  has  been  voted  as  follows : 


On  salaries  less  than  $600 . 10% 

On  salaries  from  $600-$  700 .  9% 

On  salaries  from  $700-$  800 .  8% 

On  salaries  from  $800-$  900 . , .  7% 

On  salaries  from  $900-$1,000 .  6% 

On  salaries  of  $1,000  and  over .  5% 


While  this  was  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  it  was  not  a  sufficient¬ 
ly  great  one,  as  subsequent  events  have  proved.  We  have  been 
under  the  necessity  of  replacing  30%  of  our  teaching  force.  This 
in  itself  is  lamentable.  But  the  seriousness  of  the  situation  is  fully 
realized  only  when  the  difficulty  of  securing  competent  teachers  to 
fill  vacancies  is  thoroughly  understood. 

Under  our  salary  schedule,  even  with  the  special  increase  per¬ 
centages  added,  the  Superintendent  has  been  able  to  exercise  little 
or  no  choice  in  the  selection  of  teachers.  He  has  reached  the  point 
where  he  feels  elated  to  find  a  single  legally  licensed  candidate  for 
any  position.  Doubtless  many  of  those  thus  engaged  will  be  wholly 
successful  with  their  work ;  but  the  condition  is  one  which  gives  no 
encouragement  for  the  improvement  of  our  teaching  personel.  Quite 
the  reverse.  It  is  becoming  clearer  every  day  that  we  will  be  in 
still  worse  straits  by  the  time  we  shall  again  be  contracting  with 
teachers.  Government  work  and  business  are  both  bidding  heavily 
against  the  schools  for  the  present  supply  of  teachers,  and  for  the 
future,  exceedingly  short  provision  is  being  made.  The  Normal 
Schools  next  June  will  graduate  not  more  than  50  or  60  per  cent 
of  the  usual  number.  The  really  desirable  ones  of  this  restricted 
number  will  be  eagerly  sought  for  by  cities  which  will  be  willing  to 
pay  an  initial  salary  as  great  as  our  present  maximum.  I  am  thor¬ 
oughly  convinced  that  our  duty  to  the  Rome  Schools  can  only  be 
discharged  by  raising  our  minimum  salaries  $200  above  the  present 
figures.  In  no  other  way  can  we  hope  to  make  replacements  which 
will  not  lower  the  standard  which  we  have  thus  far  tried  to  main¬ 
tain  in  our  teaching  force. 


28 


THE  WILLETT  SCHOOL 

An  Experiment  in  One-story  Schoolhouse  Architecture 

In  October,  1917,  was  brought  to  completion  the  school  buiding 
illustrated  on  the  opposite  page.  It  has  therefore  been  occupied 
only  about  four-fifths  of  a  school  year,  but  time  enough  has  elapsed 
to  make  some  observations  of  possible  value  on  this  type  of  build¬ 
ing.  As  will  be  seen  by  the  plans,  it  contains  fourteen  forty-pupil 
classrooms,  two  offices,  toilets,  bath,  and  an  auditorium  or  playroom. 

The  exterior  is  of  rough  texture  red  brick  of  variegated  shades, 
trimmed  with  Onondaga  Litholite.  The  interior  has  plastered  walls 
and  ceilings,  brick  base  one  foot  above  floor,  red  oak  trim  finished 
in  dull  gray  to  harmonize  with  the  decoration  of  the  walls.  Stud- 
and-plaster  partitions  are  used  throughout  the  building.  The  floors 
are  all  battleship  linoleum,  laid  on  concrete  which  in  turn  rests  on 
hollow  tile  laid  in  sand  on  a  cinder  fill. 

The  building  fulfills  all  requirements  as  to  heat,  light,  ventilation 
and  sanitary  conveniences. 

In  a  general  way,  there  are  three  considerations  which  deserve 
discussion  in  regard  to  any  school  building.  These  are :  First,  cost 
of  construction;  second,  cost  of  operation  and  maintenance;  third, 
adaptation  to  needs.  I  shall  take  these  up  in  their  turn. 

First — Cost  of  Construction 

The  building  itself,  including  necessary  walks,  curbing  and  grad¬ 
ing  immediately  surrounding  it,  but  exclusive  of  site  and  exclusive 
of  furniture  and  equipment,  cost  $83,084.89,  or  a  little  less  than 
$6,000  per  classroom.  The  original  appropriation  for  actual  building 
purposes  was  $67,000.  The  construction  costs  therefore  exceeded 
the  estimate  by  about  $16,000.  The  question  naturally  presents 
itself  as  to  whether  the  adoption  of  the  one-story  type  was  respon¬ 
sible  for  this  excess  cost.  There  is  no  way  of  answering  the  ques¬ 
tion  with  precision,  as  figures  were  not  obtained  on  a  two-story 
building  of  similar  size  and  quality.  Costs  entering  into  the  regular 
two-story  type  were  pretty  well  known  at  the  time  the  plans  were 
made,  however,  and  everyone  concerned  in  the  problem  agreed 
after  careful  study  that  the  appropriation  would  be  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  sufficient  for  its  purpose.  As  an  experiment,  however,  the 
architect  was  authorized  to  prepare  plans  for  a  one-story  building 
instead  of  the  two-story  building  originally  in  mind.  By  the  time 
plans  were  prepared  and  bids  were  received,  conditions  in  the  build¬ 
ing  trades  had  reached  a  point  where  it  seemed  likely  that  further 
delay  would  be  attended  by  increased  costs,  no  matter  what  type  of 
building  were  selected.  It  was  therefore  deemed  expedient  by  the 
Board  of  Education  to  accept  bids  as  offered  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  their  amount  ran  rather  heavily  over  the  appropriation.  Time 
has  abundantly  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  this  decision. 

It  can  not  be  denied,  however,  that  judging  from  such  data  as 
we  possess,  the  City  of  Rome  has  found  no  economy  of  construction 
cost  in  choosing  the  one-story  plan,  and  indeed  it  seems  probable 
that  there  would  have  been  some  saving  in  adhering  from  the  very 


29 


30 


A.  L.  Brockway,  Architect,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 


1  inuniniQECo  / 
MlLriuiumn  V 

LL  A  5  5  lOOMp, 

!l ITTtl  "un?  l:V  il  [j 
llil|li||,!!)l  B! H' M!  !l  f 

iThi)1!1'  [;[d!ll  \ 

inaoanoao 

inniimninnin 

□ 

icmoraiania  1 
imaninnrnan  I 

inaadauaa  1 

irvTnumrinni  \ 

XCLA55  ft.  CO  Mi 

1  L_1J  Li  Lli  iwo  _U3_ll  1  ll  L  11  U 

innmnniiin  l 
larjinuauiu  \ 

laoaoooaa  / 

ill  11  U 

irnuLiLiLoiiian  1 
inuLmimuu  \ 

1  IE  !□□□□□  J 
iQD^cnann  \ 

L  A  5bU,R.  O-OM-t 

IQuU U»ol.t»uU  jj 
i  in^mao  1 
iiinmnnnn  \ 

if-ii  rr  , 

1 

■T^-T-T-.T  1 

hhCM  1  , 

FLOOR  PLAN  OF  WILLETT  SCHOOL 

A.  L.  Brockway,  Architect 


start  to  the  more  familiar  two-story  type.  Mention  may  properly 
be  made  here  of  one  idea  which  it  would  seem  is  sometimes  slighted 
by  architects  and  ignored  by  school  authorities.  That  is  the  dis¬ 
tinction  between  fire-proofing  the  material  of  a  building  and  fire¬ 
proofing  the  human  content  of  a  building.  The  building  we  have  is 
not  of  itself  fire-proof.  Yet  because  of  its  plan,  the  children  within 
the  building  are  absolutely  safe  from  fire  hazards.  This  constitutes 
a  familiar  argument  in  favor  of  the  one-story  building,  the  advocate 
always  implying  that  if  this  type  is  not  selected,  then,  in  order  to 
make  the  lives  of  the  children  safe  in  a  two-story  building,  such 
building  must  be  made  fire-proof  of  itself,  thus  greatly  increasing 

31 


cost.  This  I  believe  to  be  a  fallacy.  A  two-story  building  can  be 
so  planned  that  the  safe  exit  of  the  children  can  be  at  all  times 
absolutely  assured,  yet  the  building  itself  not  be  entirely  fire-proof. 
This  is  the  only  type  of  building  which  ought  to  be  compared  with 
the  one-story  building.  It  is  unfair  to  place  in  competition'  with 
a  building  offering  complete  fire  protection  in  only  one  particular, 
a  building  offering  complete  fire  protection  in  two  particulars. 

Second — Cost  of  Operation  and  Maintenance 

The  cost  of  fuel  used  in  heating  the  building  for  five  months 
from  November  1  to  April  1,  figured  about  $13  per  class-room  per 
month,  counting  the  play-room  as  equivalent  to  three  class-rooms. 
The  cost  for  the  same  period  of  heating  the  Thomas  Street  building, 
which  has  an  equivalent  of  fourteen  class-rooms  and  is  equipped 
with  precisely  the  same  kind  of  heating  plant  as  that  in  Willett 
School,  was  approximately  $10  per  month  per  class-room.  The 
Thomas  Street  School,  however,  derives  an  advantage  in  heating 
over  the  standard  two-story  type,  in  that  four  of  its  rooms  are  on 
what  is  called  the  ground  floor,  with  five  rooms  on  each  of  the 
floors  above. 

The  East  Rome  School  and  the  Gansevoort  School,  which  also 
have  the  same  kind  of  boilers  (Ames  Tubular),  ran  to  $15  and  over 
per  class-room  per  month  for  the  same  period.  These  two  schools 
are  at  a  disadvantage  in  being  smaller  buildings,  the  Gansevoort 
School  being  at  the  still  greater  disadvantage  of  having  the  most 
severe  weather  exposure  of  any  school  building  in  the  city.  On 
the  whole  it  seems  reasonable  to  assume  that  heating  costs  will  not 
be  appreciably  different  in  the  new  school  from  what  they  would 
have  been  if  a  building  of  equal  capacity  had  been  built  in  the  same 
location  with  two  stories  and  a  basement. 

Keeping  the  building  clean  is  unquestionably  a  simpler  proposi¬ 
tion  than  it  would  be  if  it  were  on  two  floors  with  stairways  between. 
Janitor  service  costs  but  $50  per  year  more  than  it  does  in  the  East 
Rome  School,  although  there  is  nearly  50  per  cent  more  floor  space. 
It  cannot  be  discovered  that  this  difference  in  janitor’s  pay  marks 
anything  more  than  the  actual  difference  in  the  value  of  services 
required. 

As  to  maintenance,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a  new  building 
of  any  type  would  call  for  any  considerable  repair  expenses  for  at 
least  ten  years.  Experience  clearly  shows,  however,  that  whenever 
a  school  building  reaches  the  age  where  repairs  are  required,  the 
roof  is  the  first  and  last  thing  to  need  attention.  The  one-story 
school-house  with  its  great  area  of  roof  will  unquestionably  require 
more  expense  for  maintenance  than  it  would  if  the  original  expense 
of  the  building  had  gone  into  height  instead  of  horizontal  extent. 

Third — Adaptation  to  Needs 

The  principal  and  the  teachers  all  agree  that  the  building  is  a 
delightful  one  in  which  to  work.  Administrative  and  supervisory 


32 


work  is  reduced  to  the  minimum  of  effort.  The  one  interior  class¬ 
room  with  overhead  lighting  is  the  only  exception  to  the  rule  of 
perfect  comfort  and  convenience.  There  is  no  waste  room  in  the 
building.  Every  foot  of  it  is  in  almost  constant  use  during  school 
hours.  The  play-room  might  have  been  larger  with  great  advantage. 
Recess  periods  have  to  be  arranged  in  series,  but  it  is  not  feasible 
to  make  a  school  program  with  more  than  three  such  periods  in  a 
session — two  are  usually  considered  a  maximum.  The  normal  reg¬ 
istration  for  the  building  is  540.  Dividing  this  in  three  parts,  we 
have  180  children  to  be  provided  for  in  each  recess  period.  As  the 
area  of  the  play-room  is  less  than  2,000  square  feet,  it  gives  for  180 
pupils  only  about  eleven  square  feet  per  pupil  for  free  play.  This 
is  at  once  seen  to  be  an  absurdity.  If  there  were  outside  play¬ 
ground,  to  supplement  this,  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty  could  easily 
be  found.  But  as  the  lot  was  too  small  to  afford  this,  our  only 
recourse  is  to  have  the  children  take  turns  in  having  the  use  of  the 
play-room  at  recess  time,  those  not  being  fortunate  enough  to  secure 
the  privilege  for  any  particular  day  taking  their  recess  in  the 
restricted  limits  of  their  own  class-room. 

Details 

The  Board  of  Education  has  long  since  committed  itself  to  the 
proposition  that  there  is  no  economy  in  cheap  heating  systems,  venti¬ 
lating  apparatus  and  plumbing  equipment.  Every  item  of  this  kind 
entering  into  the  building  was  required  to  be  of  first-class  construc¬ 
tion  and  of  positive  action.  These  might  well  be  listed  for  praise 
were  they  unique.  Since  they  are  common  to  several  schools 
recently  built  in  this  city  they  may  pass  with  this  mere  mention. 

The  building,  however,  contains  some  features  which  have  not 
before  been  incorporated  in  a  Rome  school  building,  and  while 
these  have  no  necessary  connection  with  the  type  of  building  in 
which  they  are  found,  it  may  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  bring  them 
briefly  into  view. 

(a)  The  elimination  of  the  old-fashioned  coat- room  and  the 
substitution  of  the  modern  separate  wardrobe  idea  is  an  entire  suc¬ 
cess.  Much  room  is  saved  in  this  way,  garments  and  children  are 
under  constant  surveillance  of  the  teacher  and  the  slide  blackboards 
which  form  the  fronts  to  the  wardrobes  make  the  entire  side  of  the 
room  usable  for  instruction  purposes.  The  appearance  of  the  room 
is  not  marred  in  the  least  by  the  working  out  of  the  scheme  and 
the  fact  that  the  ventilation  outlet  of  the  entire  room  is  through 
these  wardrobes  guards  against  offensive  odors  from  the  garments 
entering  the  class-room  and  at  the  same  time  provides  for  airing 
and  drying  the  garments  hanging  there.  The  idea  might  well  be 
adopted  as  a  standard  for  future  construction. 

( b )  The  sash  blackboards  for  teacher’s  use  in  the  front  of  each 
room  are  of  small  expense  and  of  very  great  service.  Teacher’s 
work  may  be  placed  on  one  of  these  boards  after  the  school  session 
of  one  day  and  not  revealed  until  the  proper  time  comes  during  the 

33 


day  following.  It  makes  for  better  preparation  of  lesson  material 
on  the  part  of  a  teacher  and  thus  becomes  a  feature  worthy  of 
extension  to  all  our  other  buildings. 

(c)  The  linoleum  floors  appeal  to  the  teachers  as  a  real  luxury. 
Most  builders  have  experienced  trouble  in  keeping  linoleum  flat  on 
the  floor  after  it  is  laid,  but  the  substructure  provided  by  the 
architect  for  the  resting  place  of  the  linoleum  in  this  building  was 
so  successfully  worked  out  that  there  has  been  no  trouble  at  all  on 
that  score.  The  cost  of  such  a  floor,  however,  is  a  serious  item. 
For  class-room  use  I  am  personally  unable  to  see  how  the  added 
expense  is  justified ;  for  its  advantages  over  a  good  maple  floor,  while 
discernible,  are  really  very  slight.  In  the  conclusion  just  stated  I 
would  make  an  exception  of  the  play-room,  for  in  this  place  after 
the  experience  we  have  had  I  would  consider  a  battleship  linoleum 
floor  as  pretty  nearly  an  absolute  necessity.  By  its  use  the  noise 
made  by  children  at  play  when  others  in  the  same  building  are  trying 
to  study  is  greatly  reduced,  and  an  advantage  of  great  value  is 
thereby  secured. 

(d)  Tile  floors  in  the  corridors  constitute  another  expense  which 
to  say  the  least  is  questionable.  In  toilets,  bath-room  and  vestibules, 
any  place,  in  fact,  where  wet  cleaning  is  frequently  necessary,  I 
regard  tile  as  a  vital  necessity.  So  it  might  be  in  a  room  in  danger 
of  dampness  from  beneath.  But  the  main  corridors  of  a  school 
building  I  should  be  inclined  to  class  with  the  recitation  rooms  in 
a  belief  that  hard  maple  floors  answer  the  purpose  excellently  well 
and  that  anything  costing  more  than  a  hard  maple  floor  would  have 
to  prove  a  case  for  itself  before  being  admitted. 

( e )  The  Play-room  or  Auditorium.  The  day  has  certainly 
passed  when  a  school  building  in  any  such  climate  as  Rome  enter¬ 
tains  should  be  allowed  to  be  built  without  this  feature.  It  is  simply 
invaluable.  Physical  Training,  Supervised  Play,  Free  Play,  School 
Exercises  and  Exhibitions,  Parents’  Meetings,  Community  Enter¬ 
prises  and  Civic  Betterment  Movements  are  all  made  not  only 
possible  but  inviting  by  its  existence.  Our  climate  is  such  that  for 
a  large  part  of  the  school  year,  outdoor  play  for  many  pupils  is 
impracticable.  The  only  fault  in  the  play-room  we  have  in  Willett 
School  is  that  there  is  not  enough  of  it. 

Summary:  From  the  standpoint  of  the  pupil,  the  one-story 
building  is  highly  satisfactory  except  that  it  takes  up  some  possible 
play-ground  space  which  he  would  very  much  like  in  favorable 
weather  to  use. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  teacher  the  one-story  building  is  ideal. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  janitor  the  one-story  building  is  as 
free  as  possible  from  faults. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  taxpayer  there  is  ground  for  suspicion 
that  the  one-story  building  involves  certain  costs  in  the  way  of 
construction  and  maintenance  which  might  be  avoided  without  any 
detrimefit  to  the  physical  or  educational  interests  of  the  pupils. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  school  executive,  the  one-story  build- 

34 


ing  has  brought  with  it  some  highly  superior  features  of  school- 
house  construction,  but  which  are  not  in  fact  inseparable  from  the 
one-story  idea.  Most  of  the  very  desirable  features  usually  found 
associated  with  the  one-story  plan  could  just  as  effectively  be  used 
with  a  two-story  plan.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  the  one-story 
plan  commends  itself  most  highly  in  the  case  of  a  small  school  on 
a  plot  of  abundant  size.  It  is  never  to  be  recommended  for  a  plot 
of  restricted  area ;  and  indeed  on  a  plot  of  no  matter  how  great 
dimensions  it  would  seem  doubtful  if  a  one-story  building  contain¬ 
ing  more  rooms  than  are  in  Willett  School  would  be  practical  on 
account  of  long  distances  necessary  in  making  communications 
with  various  parts  of  the  building. 


Suggestive  Building  Program 


BUILDING  PROGRAM 

The  first  essential  to  good  schools  is  good  teaching.  No  amount 
of  money  spent  on  bricks  and  mortar  can  make  up  for  negligence 
in  insuring  a  high  quality  of  instructional  service.  Closely  sec¬ 
ondary  to  that,  however,  comes  the  physical  facilities  for  carrying 
on  school  work.  Splendidly  as  the  city  has  responded  to  these 
needs  as  they  have  been  from  time  to  time  pointed  out  by  the  Board 
of  Education,  we  are  still  seriously  behind  with  our  building  enter¬ 
prises.  Although  in  the  past  six  years  we  have  constructed  three 
new  buildings,  it  must  be  remembered  that  two  of  these  (Thomas 
Street  and  Willett)  were  only  enlarged  replacements,  while  the  third 
(Gansevoort)  is  a  very  small  structure.  They  have  therefore  not 
given  us  the  increase  in  total  number  of  rooms  which  would  nat¬ 
urally  be  suggested  to  one  who  has  not  actually  analyzed  the  condi¬ 
tions.  The  fact  is  that  we  are  badly  crowded.  In  every  section 
of  the  city  we  are  registering  more  grade  pupils  per  room  than  we 
can  care  for  with  best  results,  and  even  at  that  we  have  not  rooms 
enough  in  our  school  buildings  without  resorting  to  the  necessity 
of  renting  rooms  for  overflow  grades.  Really  suitable  rooms  are 
not  available  for  this  purpose  and  we  have  to  take  what  we  can  get, 
without  much  regard  to  proper  lighting,  ventilating  or  safety  from 
fire  hazard. 

The  war  with  its  overshadowing  claims  has  very  properly  put  a 
brake  upon  all  expenditures  for  community  betterment ;  but  the 
war  cannot  wholly  prohibit  provisions  for  our  increasing  school 
population  nor  even  long  delay  them.  The  Building  Administrator 
advises  me  that  necessary  additions  to  school  buildings  will  be 
allowed  during  the  continuance  of  the  war,  and  as  soon  as  the  war 
is  over,  we  should  be  ready  with  our  program  of  needed  develop¬ 
ments  to  make  our  school  system  worthy  of  the  new  era  of  peace. 
On  the  supposition  that  the  war  will  continue  into  the  year  1919, 
but  will  not  run  into  1920,  I  would  urge  with  all  earnestness  an 
immediate  program  of  inexpensive  enlargements,  bringing  our 
present  small  “feeding  schools”  up  to  capacity  for  taking  care  of 
six  grades,  this  to  be  followed  as  soon  as  new  construction  has 
Government  Approval  by  the  building  of  a  new  sixth-grade  school 
on  the  Linden  Street  lot;  this  in  turn  to  be  followed  as  soon  as 
expedient  by  another  new  building  which  shall  take  all  the  seventh, 
eighth  and  ninth  grade  pupils  in  the  city  and  give  them  a  choice  of 
either  academic,  commercial,  industrial  or  vocational  preparation. 

The  advantages  of  such  a  program  are  obvious ;  it  gives  us  a 
chance  to  make  much  needed  expansion  in  our  small  schools  at  a 
time  when  we  are  not  allowed  to  do  anything  else ;  it  puts  the  building 
of  a  new  grade  school  as  far  in  the  foreground  as  possible;  and  it 
paves  the  way  for  a  reorganization  of  our  promotion  procedure 
along  lines  of  the  most  modern  educational  practice. 

On  the  opposite  page,  I  have  tried  to  make  the  idea  graphic  by 
showing  the  progressive  steps  in  the  plan  with  the  projected  new 
construction  of  each  successive  year  shaded  in  distinction  from  that 
supposed  to  be  previously  completed. 


37 


AWARDS  — 1916-1917 


SLINGERLAND  PRIZE,  MARCH  9 
Girls  —  First,  Gretchen  Dillenbeck;  second,  Margaret  Wallis 
Boys  —  First,  Thomas  Wheeler;  second,  James  E.  Bird,  Jr. 

DAVIS  ESSAY  PRIZEZ,  JUNE  28 
Harold  Arthur  Rathbone 

Subject  —  “The  Mohawk  Valley  1776-1916:  A  Contrast” 

UNIVERSITY  SCHOLARSHIPS 
Janet  Gregg  MacAdam  Harry  Segal 


ACADEMY  GRADUATION  HONORS 


First,  Janet  Gregg  MacAdam 
Second,  Clayson  Wheeler  Aldridge 
Third,  Tom  Holden  Barnard 
Fourth,  Harry  Louis  Segal 
Fifth,  Thelma  Frances  Foote 
Sixth,  Albert  Robert  Reese 
Latin,  Janet  Gregg  MacAdam 


English,  Janet  Gregg  MacAdam 
Mathematics,  Walter  August  Juergens 
Science,  Tom  Holden  Barnard 
Commercial,  Francis  John  Lawler 
Oratorical,  Tom  Holden  Barnard 
Recitation,  Janet  Gregg  MacAdam 


HIGH  SCHOOL  DIPLOMAS 
Graduating  Class  of  forty-three  members 


PERFECT  ATTENDANCE  CERTIFICATES 

(1)  With  Purple  Seals  (8-11  years’  record) 

May  Peglow,  9  years  Pauline  Relyea,  9  years 

Clayton  Tritsch,  8  years 


(2)  With  Red  ! 
Jennie  Ackernecht,  4  years 
Wesley  Blood,  6  years 
Martha  Brunner,  4  years 
Marion  Dewey,  4  years 
Bertha  Evans,  5  years 
Dorothy  Groff,  5  years 
Clara  Glickman,  4  years 
Pasquale  Falconi,  4  years 
John  Morasco,  5  years 
Joanna  Dandino,  4  years 
Lena  Spadafora,  5  years 
Josephine  Bova,  4  years 
Irene  Ventura,  4  years 
Rosie  Yanotti,  4  years 
Michael  Viscosci,  4  years 
Frank  Sestito,  4  years 
Samuel  Taverna,  4  years 

(3)  Plain 
Three  hundred 


(4-7  years  record) 

Anna  Cingranelli,  4  years 
Julia  Salce,  4  years 
Amelia  Spadafora,  4  years 
Stuart  Davis,  4  years 
Clayton  Blakeslee,  4  years 
Helen  E.  Frey,  4  years 
Walter  Wittman,  5  years 
M.  Donald  Healy,  7  years 
Marie  Koons,  5  years 
Edgar  Doyle,  4  years 
Reba  Henderberg,  4  years 
Charles  Holtz,  5  years 
Pauline  Holtz,  4  years 
Doris  Loomis,  4  years 
Stella  Peglow,  7  years 
Othmer  Scholz,  5  years 
Edna  Williams,  6  years 

-3  years’  record) 
id  twenty-eight  pupils 


38 


THE  H.  B.  CASE  HISTORICAL  COMPOSITION  PRIZE 
Girls  —  First,  Elizabeth  J.  Jewell;  second,  Eleanor  O.  Staley 
Boys  —  First,  M.  Donald  Healy;  second,  Fiorre  Stagliano 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  GRADUATION  HONORS 


(Regents  Average  of  90%  and  Higher) 


Frederick  S.  Marks 
Eleanor  O.  Staley 
Fiorre  J.  Stagliano 
Elizabeth  C.  Abbuhl 
Lillian  Margolin 
William  James  Gage 
Anna  Marion  Stagner 
Charles  P.  Knight 
Eleanor  Ruth  Hughes 
Earl  E.  Bartlett 
M.  Edna  Williams 
F.  Anita  Colihan 
Vivian  E.  Sprague 
Frederick  S.  Luberda 
Ernestine  S.  Outtrim 
W.  McKinley  Percival 
Reginald  W.  Beckwith 
Jennie  Gianvito 
Eleanor  R.  Campbell 
Hazel  M.  Burris 
Edith  M.  Hitchcock 
Elsie  L.  Davis 


Lester  L.  Lovier 
Ruth  E.  Page 
Charles  W.  Havens,  Jr. 
Theodore  W.  Outwater 
C.  Carrol  Allen 
Harry  Goldman 
Leah  M.  Rathbone 
B.  Alberta  Beckwith 
J.  Harlowe  Quinlan 
Hattie  M.  Spargo 
Elizabeth  J.  Jewell 
Dorothy  S.  Maxham 
Catherine  P.  Sexton 
Cora  O.  Agans 
Leroy  J.  Mumpton 
Frank  Maxon  Potter 
Oliver  Rudd 
Carolyn  A.  Agan 
Clara  Rickmyer 
Doris  R.  Evans 
Wayne  G.  Seager 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  DIPLOMAS 
Graduating  class  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  members 


1917-1918 


SLINGERLAND  PRIZE 
Girls  —  First,  Lillian  Wood;  second,  Dorothy  Waldo 
Boys  —  First,  Harry  Rice ;  second,  Carroll  Bates 

DAVIS  ESSAY  PRIZE 
Helena  Roth 

Subject  —  “Service  Rendered  to  America  by  Foreign  Military  Officers” 


UNIVERSITY  SCHOLARSHIPS 
Ruth  S.  Kingsley  A.  Gertrude  Hyde 


ACADEMIC  GRADUATION  HONORS 


First,  Ruth  Seymour  Kingsley 
Second,  Adelaide  Gertrude  Hyde 
Third,  Marie  Louise  Haas 
Fourth,  Louise  Margaret  Hertel 
Fifth,  Bernice  Dietrich  Martin 
Sixth,  Harold  Arthur  Rathbone 
Latin,  Ruth  Seymour  Kingsley 


English,  Ruth  Seymour  Kingsley 
Science,  Harold  Arthur  Rathbone 
Mathematics,  Ruth  Seymour  Kingsley 
Commercial,  Hilda  Margaret  Burkard 
History,  Ruth  Seymour  Kingsley 
Oratorical,  Harold  Arthur  Rathbone 
Recitation,  Ruth  Seymour  Kingsley 


HIGH  SCHOOL  DIPLOMAS 
Graduating  class  of  forty-four  members 


PERFECT  ATTENDANCE  CERTIFICATES 
(1)  With  Purple  Seals  (8-11  years’  record) 

M.  Donald  Healy,  8  years  Pauline  Relyea,  10  years 

Stella  M.  Peglow,  8  years 


(2)  With  Red  Seals  (4-7  years’  record) 


William  Carroll,  4  years 
Anita  Colihan,  4  years 
Mildred  Evans,  5  years 
Dorothy  Groif,  6  years 
Pauline  Holtz,  5  years 
Katherine  Jones,  5  years 
Ellen  Wilson,  5  years 


Clarence  Kalk,  4  years 
Othmer  Scholz,  6  years 
Charles  Holz,  6  years 
Howard  Kalk,  4  years 
Edward  Burris,  4  years 
Bessie  Fleming,  4  years 
Stuart  Davis,  5  years 


39 


Lena  Spadafora,  6  years 
Clayton  Blakeslee,  5  years 
Chester  Carrier,  4  years 
Lottie  Marchevski,  4  years 
Perry  Butts,  4  years 
Rose  Hettrick,  4  years 
Abraham  Zimbal,  4  years 
Edward  Closinski,  4  years 
Clara  Glickman,  5  years 


Mary  Rizzutto,  4  years 
Vito  Nardozza,  4  years 
Theresa  Basile,  4  years 
Adelyn  D’Ainto,  4  years 
Tony  DelPiano,  4  years 
Ateo  Spadafora,  4  years 
Frank  Sestito,  5  years 
Julia  Salce,  5  years 
Amelia  Spadafora,  6  years 


(3)  Plain  (1-3  years’  record) 

Three  hundred  and  forty-nine  pupils 

GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  GRADUATION  HONORS 
(Regents  Average  of  90%  and  Higher) 


Richard  Nelson  Williams 
Mary  Elizabeth  Heyne 
Helen  Mary  Mammosser 
Harold  B.  West 
Dorothy  I.  Havens 
Ethel  L.  Belius 
Ethel  R.  Scagel 
Marguerite  C.  Burke 
Ethel  M.  Krumm 
Reba  S.  Henderberg 
Helen  E.  Greene 
C.  Vivian  Meyers 
Ethel  E.  Midlam 
Howard  O.  Ackles 
Mary  E.  Kilbourne 
William  J.  Powers 
William  Engelbert,  Jr. 
Ernest  Popp 
Hilda  A.  Drake 
Raymond  T.  Audas 
Harold  J.  Clements 
Max  Horowitz 
Irene  M.  Brodbeck 


Marjorie  A.  Richards 
Helen  E.  Frey 
Walter  J.  Wittman 
J.  LeRoy  Puttock 
Howard  B.  Evans 
John  H.  Larrabee 
Tony  Marian 
Lydia  M.  Roth 
Ivah  R.  Baker 
Emerett  E.  Reckentine 
Wayne  Sturdevant 
Erwin  L.  Baker 
Anna  K.  Parkhurst 
Anna  M.  Arnold 
Doris  F.  Hinkley 
Pauline  A.  Holtz 
Mary  Alvarez 
Ruth  W.  Byam 
Katherine  A.  Jones 
Dorothy  P.  Cagwin 
Mariska  I.  Kouch 
Mildred  Waterman 
Wallace  A.  Wood 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  DIPLOMAS 
Graduating  class  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  members 


Yours  very  truly, 


George  R.  Staley, 

Superintendent. 


40 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARLY  SCHOOLS  OF  ROME,  N.  Y. 

(Compiled  by  L.  Elizabeth  McFarland,  August,  1917.) 

In  Samuel  Durants’  History  of  Oneida  County,  of  the  period 
from  1667-1878,  there  is  a  map  of  the  Town  of  Rome  in  1810. 
Such  map  of  1810  is  substantially  one  of  Rome  at  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  the  nineteenth  century,  for  the  changes  during  that  period 
were  slight.  The  census  of  the  town  in  1800  shows  a  population 
of  1,459,  and  the  census  of  1810  shows  a  population  of  2,003,  a 
gain  in  the  whole  town  of  only  544  in  ten  years.  In  the  index 
which  explains  the  map  the  two  following  items  are  of  interest 
concerning  the  history  of  early  schools  in  Rome,  New  York: 

“No.  59 — The  Huntington  School-house  stood  on  or  near  the  site 
of  the  meat  shop  of  G.  Petrie  and  was  erected  about  1800.  It 
was  a  frame  one-story  building,  with  chimney  in  the  center  of  the 
room.” 

“No.  71 — The  School-house  in  Rome  stood  in  1800  and  1810  in 
the  southeast  corner  of  West  Park  and  it  was  there  where  courts 
were  held  in  Rome  until  the  Court-house  was  erected  in  1806.  It 
was  a  high  square  frame  building  with  hip  roof.” 

Of  these  two  school  buildings,  there  is  this  further  information 
in  the  same  history: 

“The  First  Public  School  Building  in  the  Village  of  Rome  was 
erected  some  time  previous  to  1800.  It  stood  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  West  Park  on  James  Street,  and  was  a  high  square 
building  with  a  hip  roof.  The  early  courts,  from  1798  to  1806,  were 
held  in  it.  It  was  used  for  educational  purposes  until  1819,  when 
it  was  removed  and  a  frame  school  building  erected  on  the  site  of 
the  present  Zion  Church.  This  house  was  a  number  of  years  later 
destroved  by  fire  and  the  building  on  Liberty  Street  erected  in  its 
stead.” 

“About  1800,  a  one  and  a  half  story  frame  school  building  was 
erected  on  the  east  side  of  James  Street,  a  short  distance  north  of 
Dominick,  and  was  known  as  the  “Huntington  School-house.”  The 
chimney  was  in  the  center  of  the  room,  and  the  writing  desks  were 
placed  against  the  walls  so  that  the  pupils  faced  the  walls  when 
writing.” 

There  are  no  available  local  records  as  to  the  number  of  pupils 
enrolled,  nor  of  the  subjects  taught  in  either  of  these  two  early 
schools,  but  that  the  villagers  were  interested  in  the  education  of 
their  children  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  the  years  1810-1820 
there  is  mention  made  of  two  other  schools,  one  taught  by  Oliver 
Grosvenor  and  the  other  by  Abby  Bullock. 

It  seems  that  some  years  previous  to  1820,  Oliver  Grosvenor 
started  a  private  school  in  the  upper  part  of  the  building  on 
Dominick  Street,  occupied  by  A.  and  A.  B.  Blair  as  a  drug  store. 

41 


At  first  he  had  but  four  or  five  pupils,  but  his  school  became  very 
popular  and  the  attendance  largely  increased.  He  kept  it  in  the 
Huntington  School-house  from  about  1818  to  1832,  when  he 
removed  it  to  Liberty  Street.  Mr.  Grosvenor  was  a  fine  Latin 
scholar  and  an  excellent  instructor,  and  fitted  many  young  men  for 
college.  Among  those  who  were  attendants  at  his  school  and  after¬ 
wards  rose  to  distinction,  the  following  may  be  named:  J.  D. 
Caton,  United  States  Judge,  Illinois;  Anson  S.  Miller,  United  States 
Judge,  Illinois;  Oliver  P.  Hubbard,  Professor  in  Dartmouth  College; 
D.  D.  Whedon,  Editor  of  the  Methodist  Quarterly  Review,  and 
later  in  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Miss  Abby  Bullock’s  School  was  known  as  the  “Long  House” 
on  Dominick  and  there  she  began  teaching  in  1812.  This  school 
was  attended  by  some  who  a  score  of  years  ago  were  the  oldest 
residents  of  Rome.  The  school  building  was  finally  destroyed 
by  fire. 

As  early  as  1835  there  was  agitation  for  an  Academy  for  the 
village,  but  it  was  not  until  1848  that  the  building  was  actually 
erected. ' 

Mr.  Henry  J.  Cookinham,  in  a  very  able  history  of  Oneida 
County,  describes  the  early  history  of  the  Academy  as  follows: 

“On  the  21st  of  December,  1847,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the 
American  Hotel,  in  the  Village  of  Rome,  for  the  purpose  of  naming 
trustees  for  a  proposed  Rome  Academy.  Edward  Huntington  was 
chairman  of  this  meeting  and  Calvert  Comstock  secretary.  On 
motion  of  John  Stryker  the  following  persons  were  unanimously 
named  as.  trustees:  Henry  A.  Foster,  Calvert  Comstock,  John 
Stryker,  Edward  Huntington,  Harold  A.  Pope,  Seth  B.  Roberts, 
Alya  Mudge,  Jesse  Armstrong,  Benjamin  Huntington,  Roland  S. 
Doty.,  Nehemiah  Ingersoll,  Gordon  N.  Bissell,  Sanford  Adams, 
Richard  Peggs,  Enoch  Armstrong,  Lynden  Abel,  William  L.  How¬ 
land  and  Henry  Brayton.  The  next  day  these  trustees  held  a  meet¬ 
ing  for  the  purpose  of  organization.  Harold  Pope  was  elected 
president  ;  Edward  Huntington,  vice  president,  and  Calvert  Corn- 
stock,  clerk.  A  building  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of 
R.  S.  Doty,  G.  N.  Bissell,  Enoch  B.  Armstrong  and  the  president. 
It  was  further  directed  that  S.  B.  Roberts  be  designated  to  receive 
from  the  trustees  of  the  estate  of  Dominick  Lynch  the  title  to  a  site 
for  an  academy  building.  The  president  and  secretary  were  in¬ 
structed  to  prepare,  on  behalf  of  the  board,  a  memorial  to  the 
Legislature,  seeking  an  act  of  incorporation.  A  committee  was 
then  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions  to  the  academy  fund.  On 
January  28,  1848,  the  Legislature  passed  the  act  to  incorporate  the 
Rome  Academy,  reviving  an  act  passed  April  28,  1835. 

“At  a  meeting,  held  March  20,  1848,  the  president  and  secretary 
were  requested  to  close  a  contract  with  D.  B.  Prince  for  the  erection 
of  an  academy  building,  in  accordance  with  certain  proposed  terms. 
A  special  building  committee,  consisting  of  the  president  and 
trustees,  Armstrong,  Bissell,  Huntington  and  Doty,  was  appointed 
to !  superintend  the  erection  of  the  building.  It  is  later  shown  in 


42 


the  records  that  this  building  was  to  be  of  brick,  seventy  feet  by 
forty-four  feet.  It  was  two  stories  high,  with  lecture  room,  lab¬ 
oratory,  three  rooms  for  janitor  and  furnace  room  in  the  basement. 
The  upper  rooms  were  arranged  for  separate  study  rooms  for  boys 
and  girls.  At  the  rear  of  the  building  was  woodshed  and  outhouses. 
The  entire  cost  was  $6,208.92. 

“In  July,  1848,  efforts  were  made  to  secure  a  ‘Proper  principal.’ 
On  September  1,  1848,  one  David  Prentice,  LL.D.,  was  tendered  the 
position  at  a  salary  of  $800  and  such  further  sum,  not  exceeding 
$1,000  as  the  net  income  of  the  academy  might  warrant.  Dr.  Pren¬ 
tice  would  not  accept  the  position,  and  it  was  offered  to  George 
Spencer,  who  also  declined  it.  November  9,  1848,  the  Rev.  S.  B. 
Brown  was  elected  principal  at  a  salary  of  $1,000.  Mr.  Brown 
was  a  graduate  of  Yale,  with  16  years’  experience  in  teaching. 

“The  board  then  preceeded  to  formulate  by-laws  and  regulations. 
The  rate  of  tuition  was  fixed  at  $5  for  first  year,  $6  for  second  year, 
$8  for  third  year.  French  was  $6  additional,  while  an  extra  charge 
was  also  made  for  instruction  in  music.  At  the  next  election  of 
officers  Mr.  Pope’s  resignation  as  trustee  was  presented.  Geo.  R. 
Thomas  was  elected  trustee  in  his  place,  and  Edward  Huntington 
president.  At  the  next  meeting  in  March,  1849,  the  board  prepared 
a  petition  to  the  regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York 
to  become  subject  to  visitation  from  the  University,  which  meant 
a  participation  in  the  distribution  of  the  University  funds.  This 
petition  was  favorably  received. 

“The  faculty  for  the  first  year  consisted  of  Rev.  S.  B.  Brown, 
principal;  Julius  S.  Townsend,  a  graduate  of  Wesleyan  University, 
whose  salary  was  $400;  D.  Dwight  Hitchcock,  a  graduate  of  Am¬ 
herst,  salary  $390;  Miss  Fabina  Jennings,  a  graduate  of  Mt.  Holyoke, 
salary  $400;  Miss  H.  O.  Caldwell,  Miss  Juliana  Aldrich  and  Miss 
Sarah  G.  Sill,  each  receiving  a  salary  of  $200.  It  was  specified  in 
the  annual  report  to  the  regents  that  each  of  the  above  mentioned 
women  professed  an  intention  to  make  teaching  a  permanent  profes¬ 
sion.  The  instruction  was  divided  into  three  departments,  the  male, 
female  and  primary.  A  well-arranged  course  of  study  was  out¬ 
lined.  During  the  first  year  300  students  were  registered,  107  of 
whom  attended  for  at  least  four  months. 

“The  second  principal  was  F.  Moore,  a  graduate  of  Union,  who 
had  been  assistant.  He  resigned  in  1862,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Oren  Root,  Jr.,  of  Hamilton  College,  who  served  until  the  close  of 
the  school  in  1865.” 

It  was  during  the  latter  part  of  this  period  that  the  now  famous 
Elihu  Root  acted  as  assistant  to  his  brother.  It  was  not  always 
smooth  sailing  for  the  brothers.  Oren  seems  to  have  demanded 
more  in  the  way  of  repairs  to  the  building  than  the  trustees  were 
willing  to  give  and  he  offered  his  resignation.  He  was,  however, 
prevailed  upon  to  remain.  Later  it  is  recorded  that  hasty  conduct 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Elihu  Root,  as  alleged  to  have  occurred  during 
the  absence  of  the  principal,  was  looked  into  by  a  special  committee 
appointed  for  that  purpose.  The  committee  found  the  “manner  in 

43 


which  Mr.  Root  addressed  the  group  at  the  gate  was  objectionable” 
and  that  the  “action  was  hasty  and  unjustifiable”  and  that  before 
undertaking  any  such  measures,  he  should  “have  reported  the  mat¬ 
ter  to  the  trustees  and  consulted  with  them  in  reference  thereto.” 
Nevertheless,  when  the  brothers  left  the  academy,  the  trustees 
framed  up  a  set  of  resolutions  expressing  high  appreciation  of  their 
services. 

E.  O.  Hovey  was  the  next  principal  and  served  three  years,  re¬ 
signing  in  July,  1868.  L.  S.  Putnam  was  next  elected  and  served 
until  the  transfer  of  the  academy  to  the  public  school  system.  Cer¬ 
tain  facts  concerning  the  conditions  in  the  schools  from  1850-1860 
and  of  the  growing  sentiment  in  favor  of  free  public  schools  with 
an  academic  department  are  to  be  gleaned  from  the  following  ex¬ 
tracts  taken  from  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  city 
of  Rome  for  1877 : 

“In  1850,  the  Liberty  Street  building  was  erected  under  the  su¬ 
pervision  of  R.  G.  Savery,  E.  Comstock  and  E.  Seymour  as  trus¬ 
tees.  Little  change  has  since  been  effected  in  its  outward  appearance. 
For  many  years  each  of  the  three  floors  was  occupied  by  a  depart¬ 
ment,  the  boys  and  girls  being  seated  in  different  rooms. 

“In  the  winter  of  1851  and  1852,  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  trus¬ 
tees  so  to  classify  the  school  as  to  seat  both  boys  and  girls  in  the 
same  apartment.  This  action  met  with  decided  disapproval  from  a 
large  number  of  the  patrons.  A  special  meeting  of  the  district  was 
held  Feb.  14,  1852,  at  which  the  following  resolution  was  offered, 
viz. : 

“  ‘Resolved,  That  the  classification  of  this  school  by  the  late  trus¬ 
tees,  in  placing  the  males  and  females  in  the  same  department,  was 
inexpedient  for  this  school.’ 

“Free  discussion  and  criticism  were  indulged  in,  but  the  trustees 
having  previously  resigned,  the  resolution  was  finally  withdrawn. 
Three  new  trustees  were  at  once  elected  to  the  vacancies,  who  speed¬ 
ily  restored  the  school  to  its  previous  condition,  and  for  many  years 
the  distinction  of  sex  was  rigidly  observed. 

“In  the  following  year  an  appropriation  of  $300  was  made  to 
improve  the  building  in  Canal  Village,  which  was  then  in  a  dilapi- 
tat;ed  condition,  and,  with  slight  repairs,  so  continued  until  the  pres¬ 
ent  substantial  structure  was  erected,  at  the  corner  of  James  and 
Ridge  Streets,  in  1868.  This  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  pressing 
necessities  of  a  rapidly-increasing  population  in  that  part  of  the 
village,  and  of  a  public  sentiment  which  has  first  found  expression 
at  an.  annual  school  meeting  of  the  district  in  1858,  ten  years  pre¬ 
vious. 

uNo  marked  change  is  again  noticed  until  the  winter  of  1860  and 
1861.  The  sentiment  in  favor  of  free  schools  had  then  become  so 
general,  and  their  necessity  so  apparent,  that  a  large  number  of 
citizeps  .advocated  the  abolition  of  the  rate-bill  system,  and  the  im¬ 
mediate' establishment  of  free  schools,  with  an  academic  depart¬ 
ment  fot  the  entire  village,  to  be  generously  supported  by  public 
tax'  ‘  Prominent  among  thctefe  who  were  actively  interested  in  this’ 

44 


movement  were  Edw.  Huntington  A.  Sanford,  H.  O.  Southworth, 
B.  J.  Beach,  A.  H.  Bailey,  D.  E.  Wager,  K.  Carroll,  and  Samuel 
Ward  well. 

“At  the  annual  school  meeting  of  the  district,  in  1861,  a  system 
of  free  schools  was  warmly  advocated  by  parties  above  named,  and 
many  others.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  perfect  a  plan  for  the 
proposed  change,  to  be  presented  for  approval  at  an  adjourned  meet¬ 
ing.  Meetings  were  adjourned  from  time  to  time  until  Dec.  17, 
1861,  when  a  series  of  resolutions  was  offered,  and  the  draft  of  the 
proposed  act  of  the  legislature  presented,  by  Mr.  Southworth,  look¬ 
ing  to  the  immediate  establishment  of  free  schools.  The  opposi¬ 
tion  was  strong  in  the  belief  •  that  school  expenditures  would  be 
largely  increased  under  the  provisions  of  the  proposed  law,  and, 
after  much  filbustering,  finally  succeeded  in  adjourning  the  meet¬ 
ing  for  one  month.  No  further  record  was  made  showing  any 
action  whatever  in  the  same  direction,  the  adjourned  meeting  hav¬ 
ing  been  seemingly  abandoned.  In  fact,  no  record  exists  from  Oct. 
15,  1867,  until  the  24th  day  of  June,  1869.  Then  a  demand  for  a 
change  in  the  system  of  public  schools  in  the  village  found  expres¬ 
sion  in  a  ‘Citizens’  Call’  for  a  public  meeting  at  the  court  house,  to 
consider  the  ‘expediency  of  establishment  of  a  union  free  school, 
with  an  academical  department,  within  the  limits  of  District  No.  5, 
of  the  town  of  Rome.’  ‘A  large  and  enthusiastic  meeting  convened 
at  the  time  appointed,  and  free  expressions  of  opinion  were  solicited. 
To  further  the  interests  of  the  proposed  change,  and  secure  a  larger 
attendance  of  the  friends  of  the  measure,  the  meeting  was  adjourned, 
on  motion  of  E.  L.  Stevens,  to  meet  at  the  court  house  July  3,  1869, 
at  seven  and  a  half  o’clock  P.  M.  The  friends  of  free  schools  ral¬ 
lied  in  such  numbers  at  the  adjourned  meeting  that,  immediately 
upon  the  reading  and  correction  of  the  minutes  of  the  previous 
meeting,  the  following  resolution,  offered  by  Mr.  K.  Carroll  was 
adopted  by  the  decisive  vote  of  310  to  49,  viz. : 

“  ‘Resolved,  That  a  union  free  school  be  established  within  the 
bounds  of  School  District  No.  5,  in  the  town  of  Rome,  pursuant  to 
the  provisions  of  chapter  555  of  the  laws  of  1864,  and  the  amend¬ 
ments  thereto.’  ” 

“  ‘  Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Education  of  this  union  free 
school  district  be  and  they  are  hereby  authorized  to  adopt  the 
academy,  located  in  said  district,  as  the  academical  department  of 
said  district,  with  the  consent  of  the  trustees  of  said  academy,  pur¬ 
suant  to  section  25  of  title  9,  chapter  555  of  the  laws  of  1864.’  On 
the  16th  day  of  July,  1869,  the  following  resolution  was  passed  by 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Rome  Academy,  viz. :  ‘Resolved,  That 
we  consent  that  the  Board  of  Education  of  Union  Free  School,  Dis¬ 
trict  No.  5,  in  the  town  of  Rome,  may  adopt  the  academy  as  the 
academical  department  of  said  school  district.’ 

“In  conformity  to  this  resolution,  and  on  the  same  day,  the  acad¬ 
emy  property,  consisting  of  a  building  and  lot  on  James  .Street, 
philosophical  and  chemical  apparatus,  cabinet  and  library,  was  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  Board  of  Education  by  a  quit-claim  deed  executed  by 

45 


the  following,  acting  as  a  Board  of  Trustees:  Samuel  Wardwell, 
J.  M.  Sturdevant,  H.  O.  Southworth,  A.  H.  Brainard,  Henry  M. 
Lawton,  S.  B.  Roberts,  C.  W.  Elmer,  H.  D.  Spencer,  R.  E.  Sutton, 
R.  T.  Walker  and  Geo.  Merrill. 

“The  academy  lot  was  originally  the  gift  of  Dominick  Lynch  in 
the  interest  of  education,  to  be  forever  occupied  by  a  building  de¬ 
voted  to  that  purpose. 

“July  17,  1869,  the  Board  of  Education,  having  been  duly  or¬ 
ganized  July  9,  1869,  by  the  election  of  S.  VanDresar,  president, 
and  R.  E.  Sutton,  clerk,  adopted  the  following  resolution,  viz. : 
‘Resolved,  That  the  Rome  Academy  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
adopted  as  the  academic  department  of  this  Union  Free  School  Dis¬ 
trict,  a  union  school  having  been  duly  established  under  the  provi¬ 
sions  of  title  9  of  chapter  555  of  the  laws  of  1864.’  Thus  virtually 
ended  the  struggle  in  behalf  of  free  schools.  The  old  rate-bill  was 
abolished,  and  the  schools  were  opened  in  the  fall  of  1869  upon  the 
broad  and  catholic  basis  of  free  education  for  all.” 

The  academy  opened  under  the  new  conditions  in  the  fall  of  1870 
with  an  enrollmen  of  97,  which  by  1877  had  increased  to  200  with  ad¬ 
vantages  for  a  still  larger  number.  The  first  principal  was  Geo.  H. 
Barton,  A.  B.,  and  the  first  preceptress  was  Miss  Sarah  C.  Fisher, 
who,  during  the  year  became  Mrs.  Barton. 

“Mrs.  A.  Bours  and  Miss  Alice  Armstrong  were  assistants  in 
this  school,  where  arithmetic,  algebra,  geometry,  geology,  astronomy, 
history,  all  the  higher  English  branches,  as  well  as  French,  German, 
Latin  and  Greek  were  taught.  In  July,  1871,  Oliver  Christie  Har¬ 
rington,  a  young  lawyer  of  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  was  employed  by  the 
Board  of  Education  to  organize  the  graded  system  in  the  Union 
Free  Schools  of  Rome.  These  schools  were  held  in  the  academy, 
a  brick  building  on  Liberty  Street,  another  on  S.  James  Street  and 
two  small  rooms,  accommodating  about  25  pupils  each,  one  in  East 
Rome  and  one  in  West  Rome.  A  new  building  on  Thomas  Street  was 
first  occupied  in  the  autumn  of  1871.  In  1872  the  academy  was 
thoroughly  repaired  and  reseated.  In  1874  the  brick  building  on 
Third  Street  was  erected  and  a  dwelling  house  was  purchased  and 
remodeled  for  a  primary  department  on  James  Street  South.  In 
1876  the  school  building  in  W.  Rome  was  repaired  and  enlarged  to 
accommodate  80  pupils.  In  1879  the  brick  building  on  North  Jay 
Street  was  erected  and  occupied.  The  first  published  report  of  the 
Board  of  Education  was  issued  for  the  years  1875  and  1876,  and 
according  to  this  report  29  teachers  were  employed  in  seven  differ¬ 
ent  school  buildings,  and  2,103  pupils  enrolled.  The  school  prop¬ 
erty  at  that  time  was  valued  at  $82,000.  The  schools  were  under 
the  very  efficient  direction  of  Prof.  Harrington  until  1881.  Prof. 
Harrington  was  born  in  Middlesex,  Yates  County,  N.  Y.,  March 
28,  1847.  He  was  the  son  of  Col.  Oliver  Harrington,  a  life-long 
resident  of  the  locality.  He  was  closely  related  to  Theophilus  Har¬ 
rington,  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Vermont  from  1803  to 
1813,  who  when  a  slaveholder  from  New  York  State  came  before 
him  with  proof  of  his  ownership  of  a  runaway  slave,  gave  the  fam- 


46 


ous  decision  that  nothing  short  of  “A  bill  of  sale  from  God  Al¬ 
mighty”  could  prove  a  valid  title.  Prof.  Harrington  possessed  in 
a  marked  degree  the  clearness  of  perception  and  independence  in 
action  that  characterized  this  decision  of  his  ancestor.  He  received 
a  thorough  schooling  with  the  intention  of  entering  the  legal  pro¬ 
fession,  but  before  undertaking  the  study  of  law  he  taught  for  two 
years  at  Nyack  and  filled  the  position  of  principal  of  the  Utica  Ad¬ 
vanced  School  for  two  years  in  place  of  his  brother,  James  Pratt 
Harrington.  He  studied  law  with  his  uncle,  James  A.  Christie; 
at  the  age  of  23  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  the  practice  of 
his  orofession  in  Elmira.  His  ability  as  an  instructor  and  organizer 
had  attracted  the  attention  of  educators,  and  in  July,  1871,  soon 
after  the  incorporation  of  the  city  of  Rome,  he  was  called  to  or¬ 
ganize  and  develop  the  graded  system  of  instruction  in  the  schools 
of  that  city.  He  planned  and  evolved  an  admirable  system  that  gave 
to  Rome  schools  a  place  in  the  very  front  ranks  with  those  of  larger 
cities  and  better  equipment.  During  the  ten  years  of  his  service  as 
superintendent  of  the  schools  of  Rome,  their  superior  standing 
was  recognized  by  the  educators  throughout  the  state,  and  by  the 
state  authorities  in  school  matters.  In  1882,  at  the  death  of  his 
brother,  who  had  occupied  the  position  of  principal  of  Utica  Ad¬ 
vanced  School,  he  was  again  called  to  that  position,  which  he  filled 
for  four  years.” 

Prof.  Harrington  was  succeeded  as  superintendent  by  Allen  Bar¬ 
ringer,  who  officiated  for  one  year.  Superintendents  who  have 
served  since  that  time  are :  Mvron  J.  Michael,  William  D.  Manro. 
Harrison  T.  Marrow,  Walter  D.  Hood,  Lewis  N.  Crane,  Daniel  J. 
Kelley  and  the  present  efficient  superintendent,  George  R.  Staley. 

At  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  academy  in  1870,  the  Board  of 
Education  consisted  of  S.  VanDresar,  President;  R.  E.  Sutton, 
Clerk;  J.  Hill,  E.  Huntington,  H.  O.  Southworth  and  J.  Reifert. 
They  ofifered  two  courses  in  the  academy:  The  scientific  and  clas¬ 
sical,  each  requiring  three  years.  There  were  three  terms  in  each 
year,  and  two  sessions  in  each  school  day.  The  forenoon  sessions 
were  from  nine  until  twelve  o’clock.  The  afternoon  sessions  for 
the  first  two  terms  began  at  1  :  30  and  closed  at  4,  but  in  the  spring 
term,  the  afternoon  session  was  from  2  to  5.  A  public  examination 
was  prescribed  at  the  close  of  each  school  year. 

There  was  a  strict  regulation  against  using  any  of  the  school 
buildings  for  anything  except  the  customary  use  of  schools.  The 
slogan  of  “wider  use”  had  then  not  been  heard. 

It  might  be  interesting  to  fix  all  the  dates  and  recall  all  the 
struggles  by  which  the  teaching  force  of  the  city  has  increased  to 
the  present  number  of  over  100,  the  course  of  study  lengthened 
and  enriched,  kindergartens  inaugurated,  vocational  work  added, 
departmental  teaching  developed,  qualifications  for  teachers  raised, 
salaries  increased,  and  the  spirit  of  discipline  transformed.  But 
all  this  is  as  much  a  history  of  the  times  as  it  is  a  history  of  any 
particular  school  system.  In  the  course  of  the  years  many  salutory 
changes  have  been  wrought  and  more  must  follow. 


47 


In  general,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  city  of  Rome  now  has 
in  its  public  school  system  seven  schools.  All  those  in  existence  in 
1869  have  now  been  replaced  by  modern  structures  and  five  addi¬ 
tional  buildings  have  been  erected.  The  old  academy  was  razed  in 
1897,  and  the  present  building  put  on  the  same  spot.  In  1909  a  new 
building  containing  13  rooms  was  built  in  front  of  the  old  Liberty 
Street  school  house.  The  old  one,  which  was  built  in  1850,  con¬ 
tinued  to  stand  there,  used  partly  for  overflow  classes  and  partly 
for  manual  training  work,  until  1913,  when  it  was  demolished.  The 
old  James  Street  School  was  taken  down  in  the  summer  of  1916 
and  a  new  one-story  building  containing  14  class-rooms  and  audi¬ 
torium  is  now  standing  on  the  old  site.  This  is  to  be  known  as 
Willett  School,  in  honor  of  the  Revolutionary  hero,  Marinus  Wil¬ 
lett,  whose  fame  is  connected  with  old  Fort  Stanwix. 

In  1877  the  main  part  of  the  Jay  Street  School,  containing  four 
rooms,  was  erected  and  some  years  later  a  two-room  wing  was 
added.  The  East  Rome  School  has  come  to  its  present  proportions 
of  12  rooms  by  a  gradual  evolution.  It  started  in  1874  as  a  four- 
room  school,  taking  the  place  of  a  smaller  brick  school  still  stand¬ 
ing  unused  on  E.  Dominick  Street,  which  had  in  former  years  been 
the  school  for  what  was  called  “factory  village”  before  it  was 
added  to  the  larger  district.  It  had  two  rooms  added  at  one  time, 
two  more  at  another  and  four  in  1915. 

The  wooden  building  on  S.  James  Street  was  built  in  1901.  The 
building  called  Gansevoort  School,  in  commemoration  of  the  gallant 
services  of  the  defender  of  old  Fort  Stanwix,  was  completed  in 
1815. 

The  schools  have  been  fortunate  in  retaining  the  services  of  its 
strongest  teachers  for  long  tenures.  Mr.  H.  W.  Harris  has  now 
served  the  city  for  16  years  as  principal  of  the  High  School.  Mr. 
R.  H.  Barringer  has  been  a  grade  principal  twice  that  length  of 
time.  Both  are  still  in  service  and  exercising  a  profound  influence 
on  the  growing  life  of  the  city.  Miss  Jane  S.  Higham  and  Miss 
Ella  Van  Dresar  are  other  honored  names  among  the  many  who 
have  served  long  and  effectively  and  who  continue  with  us,  while 
the  names  of  K.  S.  Putnam,  P.  H.  Miner,  Mary  L.  Buck,  Sarah 
Taft,  Mary  L.  Bissell,  A.  G.  Benedict,  B.  W.  Sherwood,  and  Myron 
T.  Scudder  are  still  well-remembered  teachers  of  the  past. 

The  city  has  always  been  represented  on  the  board  by  the  highest 
type  of  citizens.  A  few  only  of  those  who  served  as  president  need 
be  mentioned :  Stephen  Van  Dresar,  Edward  Comstock,  Dr.  A.  A. 
Gillette,  Stoddard  Stevens,  Geo.  A.  Clyde,  Geo.  G.  Bailey,  and  J.  H. 
Carroll  are  names  indissolubly  connected  with  the  honor,  the  intel¬ 
ligence  and  the  financial  strength  of  the  city. 

This  brief  history  of  the  schools  of  Rome  offers  no  exciting  read¬ 
ing,  but  it  does  record  in  good  faith  the  progressive  yet  cautious 
character  of  a  city  which  seeks  in  its  schools,  as  in  its  industrial  out¬ 
put,  to  live  up  to  its  motto  “Quality  First”  in  a  straightforward  un¬ 
spectacular  fashion. 

L.  Elizabeth  MacFarland. 

48 


